Subject: Mutual
by WingingItLass
Summary: A number of months after a student going rogue, two teachers form an unexpected bond. EraserMight Rated M for eventual violence, sexual situations, and dark themes. Some OCs and OOC moments. (Cover photo used with permission from Yukesart, go show some love!)
1. Subject: Mutual

"_There is no reason to come after me." His smile had changed from warm and innocent to cold and thin. "We all know I can't be stopped now. Keep your noses to yourselves and I'll leave Japan. Come after me, and I might just stay, wrecking the lives of anyone dumb enough to not listen to my one, simple, request."_

Shotas hand hit the bag again. THWACK!

"_There wasn't anything we could have done differently."_

THWACK!

"_These Things just happen sometimes, it's not anyone's fault!"_

THWACK!

"_We couldn't have seen this coming."_

THWACK!

"_You have nothing to apologize for, you were an amazing teacher to him."_

THWACK!

"_Stop blaming yourself."_

"AIZAWA!" the entire machine ripped out of his reach, sending the line of punching bags into the back wall.

Turning, he saw the large form of All Might just as his body wheezed back into the soft-spoken Toshinori.

"What?" his breath was short, the word spitting out.

"You're bleeding." The skeletal man grabbed at his hands, turning them over. "What's gotten into you?"

"Nothing…" he pulled his hands free, pulling the sleeves of his baggy shirt over them. "I'm just keeping loose during my free period."

He turned to walk out of the door.

"Yeah, I don't think that's what this is…" the still freakishly tall man shot around him, stepping between him and the door. "Go see Recovery before you go back to class. You're a teacher Aizawa, if they see you act like this how can you expect any better from them?"

He scoffed, stepping around Toshinori and out the door, "Clearly I can't."

It wasn't until he was out of the staff hall and almost to the classroom that he felt the throb coming from his knuckles. Pulling up his sleeve he saw that the knuckles weren't grazed, but leaving a steady drip of blood behind him. Shit. He wrapped his sleeves around again, tying them off as best he could and shoving them into his pockets.

He strode through the open door of the classroom just as the bell went off. "Class, get out your books. I expect you to make it through this chapter during this period, you may work together to read and help comprehend. Tomorrow we will be meeting here in the classroom to speak to a guest, then combat training. So, enjoy your easy day today, and don't bother me."

The sleeping bag in the corner seemed inviting, so he slid in, rubbing his tender hands to ease them while his class jabbered on with each other behind him, only slightly less rowdy than usual.

"Hello Class!" the voice of Nezu rang from the open door "I do hope your studies are going well! Please, continue the good work while I steal away your teacher for just a moment. Mister Aizawa, could I please speak with you in the hall?"

Shit. Getting out of the sleeping bag, taking care to keep his hands in his pockets, he followed the animal out into the hallway, using the back of his boot to slide the door shut behind him. The short principal stood next to the equally short nurse.

"What's this about?"

"Aizawa, you know what this is about as well as I do. So, give her your hand and tell me what this is about."

"I got a little carried away, nothing too serious." His hands didn't budge, making the principals brow furrow in annoyance.

"The trail of blood I followed to your door paints a different picture. Hands. Now."

Recovery Girl grabbed at his elbow, pulling the sleeve from his pocket and quickly undoing the half assed knot, revealing his shredded knuckles.

She rolled her eyes, "Men."

"Are we going to talk about this?" Nezus voice returned to his normal tone.

"There's nothing to talk about Nezu." Watching his skin pull back together after Recovery planted her lips to the back of his hand. "I have a class to teach, if you don't mind, I'd like to get back to it."

Nezu shighed at Erasers back that had turned to him. "Fine, but I'll be setting up mandatory counselling for your free periods. I expect you to be there, or the fees come out of your check."

He stopped, one foot in the door of the classroom. "What?"

"You heard me. You'll attend three days a week during your free period. If you show up then the school will gladly cover the expense, if you don't then it will come directly from your check. Enjoy your nap!" Nezu had begun walking away, leaving Aizawa to scowl at his back.

* * *

-Toshinori-

"You think he will go?"

Nezu shrugged his small shoulders, still looking out at the grounds from his window. "Aizawa has known a lot of loss, and guilt over those losses, through the years. It's hard telling. Hopefully pulling the fees from his paycheck if he doesn't will incentivize him."

"He shouldn't be blaming himself…"

"And neither should you," he turned, looking me in my eyes. "This wasn't something anyone could have foreseen. We all feel a little responsible, but we can't continue to mope. There are other students here, now, that need our guidance."

"You're correct," I nodded. "If only-"

"If only you paid more attention? If only you'd chosen a different successor? If only someone had filled Tartarus to the brim with cement so we didn't have to worry about the vile creatures within anymore? If only a thousand things. None of it matters, All Might. It is behind us, he is gone." He stepped towards the table, pouring tea. "I am sorry, truly, for the way things have turned out, but it is time to heal."

I took the cup he extended, trying to steady my shaking hands. "Time to heal…"

* * *

-Aizawa-

The door clicked closed behind me, bed checks on the student's rooms finally over. Ashido had been trying to sneak off to see Kirishima, claiming to be headed to the commons for a snack, but being a cock block didn't seem worth the effort. So, telling her to go get a snack and return to her room was the end of it. So long as their misadventures couldn't be heard through the dorm walls.

The scarf and goggles went to their hook and the shirt just went to the trash, sleeves had been bloody and tied off, better to just toss it than try saving it. The hair tie I left around my doorknob went into my hair and I clicked my computer on.

Six new emails, three from parents of the would-be heroes, one confirming details on our class guest for in the morning, two from Nezu beating the fact that counselling was now mandatory, and one from Toshinori.

I clicked read and responded to everything necessary before turning to Toshinori's.

**Subject: Mutual**

Mutual heartache can drive people apart, like parents who have lost a child. He may not have been our child or anything, but I know the loss you are feeling. You and I have never exactly been friends, I know that, but I want you to know you aren't alone in your grief.

Nezu told me today that it is time to heal. I know he means well, but I just don't feel that he is right this time. We lost someone so dear to us, we can't be expected to just move along so quickly. Honestly, I don't really know how to move on at all…

What I'm saying is that if you need to talk about things. To vent instead of get advice, I will listen. And I will understand.

Best Wishes -AllMight

A lump found its way to my throat as I hit the reply button, staring at the blank screen. Shit.

I typed a few letters, hit send, and stood, stretching my arms out. My head no more than hit my pillow when the rhythmic 'thump' began sounding below my room.

I groaned, pulling a jacket over my shoulders to go break up the underage shenanigans. Like rabbits.

* * *

-Toshinori-

**Reply: Subject: Mutual**

OK

-S.A

I clicked out of the email. OK? That was it?

I let my phone fall to the side table and tried closing my eyes, unsure if it was the ache in my bones or my heart that made it hard to find sleep.

* * *

-Aizawa-

"Hello, students." He pulled the hem of his jacket down, adjusting absently.

"Who the fuck is this extra?" Bakugou had his feet up on his desk, not bothering to look at the man.

A few of the others giggled, but not Iida. "Bakugou, show some respect! I'm sorry, sir, please continue."

The man swallowed. These kids would eat him alive. I stayed where I was, leaning against the wall to the side of the chalkboard.

"I am a counselor here to talk to you kids about the event these past few months." The sweat on his brow could probably be seen even at the back of the class. "I will be here twice a week for a portion of your homeroom. As well as available during lunch periods if anyone would like to speak in a more private session. Since this is sensitive topics, your teachers will not be in here during our sessions, it will just be us. So, filtering yourself won't be necessary."

I pushed off of the wall, clearing my throat. "I won't be far though, so behave yourselves." I got in close to the man, whispering so the kids wouldn't hear. "Don't seem so scared, Bakugou is all bark and no bite. The rest will back you up."

He nodded as I walked past him, sliding the door closed behind me.

"Mister Aizawa?" I looked at the woman standing in front of the window, here in the middle of the hall.

"Yeah?"

"Hello! I'm Yaeko Ohashi, I'll be spending your free periods with you for the next couple weeks!" she extended her hand, I took it more out of reflex than anything.

"Have we met before?"

She shook her head. "I don't think so, but you might've heard of me before, Jikkan."

"The Empath Hero?" her face was bubbly and smiling.

"Exactly!" she nodded. "So, when do your free periods start?"

"They're different everyday due to the rotating schedules. Today I am just supposed to be done one period early. Monday it's at noon."

"Well, why don't we start Monday, so you can still get out early today?"

I nodded, "Sure."

"Fantastic! Here's my phone number, call me if anything comes up or changes over the weekend. Unless I hear from you before, I'll talk to you Monday morning!" she handed me a card and began quickly walking away, hand over her mouth.

Weird.

About fifteen minutes later the door opened, the psych coming out.

"How'd it go?"

"Well, we pretty much just did short introductions today. Pushing for information the first time I meet them isn't likely to work. Next time we will really begin to talk."

I nodded, "Okay, they know where your temporary office is?"

"Yes, I've told them to try and come during lunch or to schedule something with you, that way they aren't just using it as an excuse to ditch on class."

"Sounds good." I slid past him, back into the room. "Alright! Get your uniforms and get changed, we'll meet in the training grounds in eight minutes. Anyone not there does cardio till sundown!"

I had some of them working on big quirk moves, others on strength training, others on team battling, and Mineta and Kaminari were doing laps around the training grounds since it took them fifteen minutes to show up. They all did pretty well, so with minor coaching and a few notes taken I basically got to stand back and let them do their thing.

By the time two o'clock came around everyone was sweaty and breathing hard, properly worn out. I spotted a streak of yellow in the catwalks. A sight that had been routine two months ago, but now the sight of Toshinori up there watching the kids train from a safe distance seemed foreign. "SHOWERS! Then off to Midnight for your Modern Arts or whatever. Hurry up!"

I brushed it off, following them all out the door, sitting on the bench outside the shower house. Took them about twenty minutes to all be out of the building and headed in the direction of the main school again, a few of them telling me to have a good weekend. Once the door shut behind the last of them, I headed off towards the dorms, ready to get my bags and head home.

I turned the corner, ready to go inside when I spotted the small frame perched on the back of the couch, right inside the door. Going in through a window crossed my mind just before his eyes caught me, waving me inside with the hand not taken with a tea cup.

"Aizawa, I hear you're going to meet with Miss Ohashi come Monday morning?"

"Why am I not just talking to the psych you brought in for the kids?"

His beady eyes looked over at me. "Because you will find lying to a quirkless psychologist much easier than the students will. With Miss Ohashi you won't be able to keep your feelings from her unless you manage to erase her quirk for the entire forty-minute session. Good luck if that's what you're planning on trying."

I tried to repress a sigh, only partially succeeding. "Why won't you just drop this?"

"Because being in everyones business is my job so long as you're on these grounds. And because I care, Aizawa." He took the last sip of his tea, hopping from the couch. "I would appreciate it if you didn't stand her up on Monday. Okay?"

"Alright, fine." I turned to head upstairs.

"Thank you! Enjoy your weekend!" he called to my back, so I waved a hand behind me.

I typed in my password to boot up the computer and clicked into my emails. Sending the quick message, I shut it back down, throwing he laptop into its case.

I grabbed the rest of my bags and hoisted them to my shoulder. Walking out the door and locking it behind me so none of the kids snuck in to snoop before they left for home.

* * *

-Toshinori-

I dismissed my class a few minutes early, earning a few whoops as the students bolted from the room, and checked the notification on my phone.

**Reply: Subject: Mutual**

Is he making you go see the empath? -S.A.

I typed out my response, still standing behind the wooden podium, leaning most of my weight onto it.

**Subject: Mutual**

He said he needed to talk to me about my free period on Monday. Should I expect that's what it'll be about?

-AllMight

I rerolled the sleeve of my suit up, making note to eventually get clothes more fitted to this small body. Using even small bursts of One for All were becoming impossible, so wearing clothes to allow for its muscle bulk probably isn't necessary anymore.

I sighed, running a hand through my hair when I heard the ding of an email come through.

**Reply: Subject: Mutual**

Yeah

-S.A.

Ever the chatterbox.

**Subject: Mutual**

Lovely. Nothing like your innermost feelings being ripped right from your brain!

If you have a free moment over the weekend could you possibly give me a call? I'd appreciate some conversation before walking into that. Maybe a beer or two as well.

Let me know (xxx)xxx-xxx

-AllMight

I shuffled around the room, pushing in chairs and cleaning up a bit. I closed the classroom door behind me just a moment after the actual last bell rung, sending students shooting through the halls in a frenzy, ready to get to their weekend activities. I heard a text sound off in my pocket.

-I'm already on the train back home for the weekend. If you get out that way then sure, I'll buy first round.-

I saved the number in my phone. -I'm not sure where 'that way is' but I'll be traveling to Tokyo tonight. Tomorrow I can meet you anywhere really, though.-

I opened the door to my office and grabbed my bag. I changed into a regular button down that fit a bit better than the yellow suit and some black pants that were still too big, but not as bad. I sighed, catching my reflection in the window as I left the room, locking the door behind me.

-I live in Tokyo-

-Oh, well I could come back tomorrow as well, then!-

The students milled about, one knocking into my shoulder, sending pain shooting through me.

"All Might! I'm so sorry!" the boy grabbed me before I could fall.

"No, don't be silly, young man!" I tried to smile at him, pain still throbbing down my arm. "I wasn't watching where I was going, probably my fault!"

The students eyes didn't leave my shaking arm. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, yes! I'm perfectly fine," I readjusted the bag on my shoulder. "You enjoy your weekend now, okay?"

"Toshinori!" her voice rang out before I could make it through the front doors of the building. "Get your behind back here, please!"

I took a deep breath, turning to smile at the short woman. "Recovery Girl! How can I help you?"

"You don't drive, do you?" she hobbled up to me on her cane.

"No, ma'am. I use the trains these days."

She nodded, handing me a small bottle.

"What is this?"

Her thin lips pressed to my hand before I could realize the bottle had been a distraction. I felt the sting in my shoulder fade, and the ache in my knees subside.

"It's a special energy drink. Take it in about fifteen minutes. That'll hold off the fatigue for a few hours. Then get home," she shuffled back, looking up at me with a smile.

"You can't keep doing that," I shook my head at her. "My injuries aren't going to go away."

"I know, but if I can make you more comfortable, I will," she had turned already, walking away from me.

"Thank you!"

She waved a hand behind her, dismissing me.

Ding!

-If you'd like to just meet tonight we can.-

-Works for me. Where would you like to meet?-

I walked to the bus stop, somehow timing it perfectly as the bus pulled up and I shuffled on.

He sent me an internet link that led to the name, address, and reviews of a bar. -Right between the train station and home for me. Just let me know when you're done doing what you need to do in the city and we can meet.-

I sat gently in the seat, looking to see how many stops the station I needed was. -I'm not really doing anything in the city, just dropping something off, then I'm free.-

He texted much faster than he responded to emails.

-If we meet before you make your delivery we might miss the Friday night crowds.-

-Sounds good to me! An hour from now, then?-

-Yep-

I slid my phone in my pocket. Making it to nearly central Tokyo from Musutafu might be cutting it a bit close, but the earlier they met the less likely they'd get caught in the crowds.

A few people recognized me once I entered the train station, I stopped for a photo with one before rushing to get on the correct line, headed to the heart of the city. The neon lights were already blazing, though the sun still beat out their shine. The small buzz of people shuffling around wasn't as bad as it would be in just a few hours, but still much busier than Musutafu ever got unless UA hosted an event.

Clicking the link Aizawa had sent I followed the navigation page to a large black door, no signs or markings but the image matched the one on the site. I put my phone in the pocket, opening the door, only to be met with resistance.

It shot open, a large man standing there, "Hero Liscense ple- Oh! Mister All Might! Hello! Go on in, sir!"

"Uh, thank you!" I tried smiling as I ducked my head, stepping through the door. "I just go up?"

"Yes sir, we only allow heroes and sidekicks in, so you won't be bothered by general public. Up the steps and to the left. Enjoy!"

I made my way up the small staircase, the faintest smell of alcohol in the air already as I got to the top. Turning I saw the bar area, a circular black marble counter with a few bartenders behind it hard at work, preparing for the Friday rush that was sure to come. The entire place was black and white marble, with black stools positioned around the bar. The booths around the room were also black, leather lining the cushions. The lighting was just thin wires hanging from the ceiling with bulbs hanging from them, filling the center of the room with crisp, white light that softened towards the sides of the open floor plan.

In the booth on the far wall I spotted one of two customers there besides him, Aizawa, a clear glass with barely any dark brown liquid left in it, papers spread out in front of him, pen moving across them slowly.

"Aizawa!" I strode across the room, his eyes moving to me as he took a long swig from his drink, moving his pen hand up in acknowledgement. "Hope you haven't been here long!"

He motioned to one of the bartenders. "I have, but just to get some grading done before you got here. The trip here okay?"

"Yes, much quicker this time of day."

He nodded as the waitress arrived at our table. "I'll take one more, All Might what would you like?"

"Uh, I can't handle anything too potent, just a beer for me."

"Stout?"

"Um, sure!"

He nodded, "Whiskey and a stout please."

She looked my way, "Imperial?"

I just nodded, not really sure what that meant.

"You got it!" she skipped back to her station.

"So," he finished writing something on the paper in front of him, clicking the pen and setting it on top of the stack. "I assume you're wanting to talk about Midoria and what Nezu's version of… dealing with him is?"

I nodded my head, slinking back in the booth. "Has he said anything to you, aside from making you see Jikkan?"

He shook his head, pushing his hair way out of his face, huffing. "He's been irritable though. Think maybe everything that has happened these past couple years is making him think about retirement."

I didn't respond, seeing the nice waitress bringing us our drinks and setting them down, "Thank you, young lady!"

She nodded, looking to Aizawa, "Tab?"

She shook his head, taking a deep drink from the glass. "But could I get one of those in just a minute?"

"Sure thing!" she walked off again.

"Regular here?"

"These days, kind of." He shrugged, pushing his sleeves up his forearm.

"Aizawa, you shouldn't blame yourse-"

"Thought you weren't here to give advice?" he took a small sip this time.

"You're right, I'm sorry. No more advice, so long as you're talking," I took a drink of the almost black beer that came in a glass instead of a mug, the taste was more molasses than it was hops. Huh, pretty good.

"And exactly what do you want me to say?" he finished off his drink, grimacing as it went down.

"We lost a student, just tell me what's going through your head. There isn't a need to filter this conversation, just let go of whatever you're feeling."

"That we fucked up, All Might," a curt chuckle left his mouth. "We fucked up royally, and what have we done about it? Everyone just turns a page and acts like nobody needs to answer for this."

He grabbed the glass the waitress placed in front of him, waving a thanks.

"Answer how?"

He took a long drink. "I don't know. Someone should've been sent after him. Our jobs are to train heroes and take down villains, instead I created a villain and was told to just let him go… and I listened."

"You didn't create a villain, All for One did."

He laughed at this. "And we handed him everything he needed to do that, didn't we?"

My throat tightened, nodding. We had.

"But here we are, all cozy here drinking while he is out terrorizing the world. And we're fine with it because…what…at least he's someone else's problem now? That's not the kind of moral code I agreed to live by when I signed on as a hero."

"Well, Midorias capture is a matter for the government. If we try to intervene, we're likely to make things worse, for everyone." The drink was sweeter than most beers I'd had, going down easily as I sipped more, almost to the last of it.

"So here we are, going on about our business like it isn't our fault."

"I'm the one that brought him into All for One's sights, Aizawa. I, too, share the blame here."

"Never said you didn't." he put his hair behind his ear this time, showing his flushed cheeks as he drank more. "I'm just saying we should be held accountable for our students actions. We should have been sent after him."

"We couldn't have stopped him. I don't even wield a quirk, and you can't erase all of those quirks at once. He'd tear you apart if you tried."

"I could take enhancers, form a task force….it could be done."

I shook my head. "That's your booze talking, enhancers are illegal and nobody would agree to take him head on. Not even you, once you're sober."

He was silent for a moment, the corner of his mouth twitching into a half smile for just a second. "Bakugo would."

"Bakugou's a dumbass!" I couldn't help the laugh that escaped me.

"You're not wrong." He took another long drink, eyes scanning the room.

Another round was brought out, just as I realized I'd gone through my entire glass, something I hadn't done in years.

"But it still stands, he needs to be stopped, soon,"

"He can't be, not yet. He's on edge, being careful after everything that happened. Eventually, he will get comfortable and cocky with his powers, then he'll start to get sloppy."

"No, he will just have a better understanding of his powers by then. Midoria doesn't get sloppy."

"I've known him since-"

He huffed, cutting me off. "Yeah, you've known him since before UA. Trained with him for a few months. Well I trained with him everyday for almost three years! I lived under the same roof, ate dinner almost every night at the same table, I _know_ him just as well as you, All Might. I'm telling you that he will _not_ get sloppy." He practically spit my name.

My throat tightened again. "I'm sorry, Aizawa."

He drank the entirety of the glass, setting it back to the table. "I don't need your apologies."

More people had started filing into the bar, making it almost half full now.

"I think-"

"You're bad at the whole no advice thing, aren't you?" his voice continued to hold its bite.

"Maybe I was going to say I think the sky is blue! Don't act like you know what people are thinking." The words just poured from my mouth, harsher than I'd like to admit, making his eyes squint just a touch.

"We both know you were about to try dropping some 'worldly knowledge' or whatever the hell. You need to learn to turn off your teacher sometimes, you're not good enough at it yet to pull it off outside of school." He grabbed his stack of papers and pen, sliding out from the booth.

"Aizawa, sit down, please." I grabbed my wallet from my pocket as he turned, ignoring me. "Dammit."

I threw a few bills to the table, my vision blurring, the alcohol hitting me once I stood. I steadied and turned to follow him. He was outside already as I reached the staircase. "Aizawa!"

"Go run your errand, All Might, we're done here."

"We aren't. You've clearly still got something pent up. Just talk to me dammit!" I tried to catch up to him, but his scarf unfurled as he shot himself up onto the short building next to us. "Don't be a child!"

He disappeared onto the roof.

The train station was only a block and a half from the bar, and the bar was half way between the station and his house. So, he can't be going far.

I dashed around the corner just quick enough to see him practically fly from one roof to another. Quick, too quick. Even at full pace, my frail body couldn't run faster than he could make his way from rooftop to rooftop. But I did turn the next corner in time to see his footing falter, falling a few feet before his scarf regrasped a holding.

"You're too drunk to be using your quirk, come on."

"Go the fuck home, why are you still here?" he didn't wait for my response, slipping up onto the roof he'd missed at first.

"Aizawa!" it took another turned corner and almost twenty seconds for me to spot a figure on a rooftop, slipping slowly down to a ledge and planting his feet.

Got him.

I slowed my pace, allowing the stinging in my chest to subside while I caught my breath, walking to the building I saw him slip into. The plaque on the buzzer had lots of buttons, initials next to each one.

S.A

Well he certainly wasn't going to buzz me in.

I looked around, not seeing any easy way up onto the ledges around me, so I opted for the button next to the one with the other teachers.

"Hello?" a small voice rang from the speaker.

"Hello there, little one, could you get one of your parents?"

There was silence for a minute before a gruff "Yeah," came through.

"Hey! It's Aizawa, from down the hall. I lost my keys today and didn't work, so I don't have my gear either. I can't get in myself; can you buzz me in?"

The voice muttered something along the lines of 'dumbass' but the buzzer on the door went off.

"Thanks, man!" I slipped inside, going for the stairwell immediately to my left. I thought back to where he'd lowered himself down and lightly tapped on the second door on the third floor.

"Aizawa!"

Nothing.

"Aizawa, I know you're there, open the damn door. Just talk to me."

"Lower your fucking voice!" so it was his door.

"Open the door then! I promise this is a battle of wills you won't win!"

There was a shuffling inside the door before it opened, a flushed Aizawa sticking his head out. "What is your problem, All Might? I said go, it doesn't get much clearer than that."

"No. You need to stop bottling this up." I edged my foot into the door so he couldn't close it on me.

"You don't get to tell me what I need to do, I'm not one of your little fanboys. Now get the fuck out of my building." His brow furrowed, a bit of hair falling back into his face.

"No." I swallowed hard, willing my drunk feet to stay steady.

"Yes," he sneered just as a black and white streak zipped out into the hall past him. "Fuck!"

He pushed past me, chasing after the streak, allowing me to take a step into the pitch-black apartment. My foot caught on something, sending me sprawling to the floor.

The light flicked on as the door slammed shut behind the dark figure of the teacher, who let the cat fall from his hands, landing on four paws before running into the darkness. "Get the fuck out."

I shook my head, propping back up on my elbows, then to my feet, facing him.

"I won't ask nicely again," his eyes began flickering red, hair swirling around his head just barely defying gravity.

"I wont leave here until you actua-"

"Until what? I cry in the fucking corner about letting my charge turn dark side?" his voice raised sharply, face flushing more with anger and alcohol as he stepped towards me, grabbing my collar in a hand, forcing me to face him. "That's not what I need, All Might! Maybe this empath, psych bullshit works for you and Nezu but talking doesn't fucking solve any of what's going on inside me. I don't want to fucking talk anymore!"

"What do you need then!?" my voice matched his, the ache from falling a reminder that maybe I shouldn't challenge him outright, but the alcohol worked my mouth faster than my brain.

"I need you to get. The. Hell. Out!" he tried taking a step back without letting go of my collar.

I quit resisting and released the pressure in my legs, sending us both flying back towards the door. I landed on top of him and forced his arms down as his quirk flared.

"Can't erase regular strength, can you?" I barked at him, fighting to keep his arms at his sides. "Training did something for me that didn't leave with my quirk at least."

"Fuck you! Get off of me!"

"No! Tell me what you need, Aizawa. I'm trying to be your friend!"

"Yeah, real fucking friendly!" his legs swung up, cutting through my arms that held him down, forcing my grip to loosen as he kicked me backwards.

I hit the wall, breath rushing from my one good lung. I struck my hand out, grabbing his leg before he could pull it back out of my reach.

"Why won't you just talk to me like an a-"

"Fuck off!" he planted the foot and pushed off, launching us back towards the door again.

I released his foot, both of us propped against a wall. "You're lashing out because you're in pain. Fucking let it out. You'll feel better for-"

He was faster than my drunk eyes could follow, appearing before me in a flash, crushing his mouth to mine. My arms at my sides, pinned there by his weight on me. My stomach turned to molten lava at his tongue suddenly invading my mouth.

Hands pulled at my hair, forcing my mouth to open further. A noise escaping me before I could stop it. His warm body tilted back, freeing my arms to explore his back.

* * *

-Aizawa-

I opened my eyes. There was a throb…. everywhere. Barely any light was coming through the window, but enough to light the way to the bathroom.

The throbbing coming from my lower body shot through me as I tried putting pressure on my legs. So, I practically crawled to the bathroom, emptying the contents of my stomach into the toilet.

Another wave of nausea hit almost immediately after the first, like a freight train, mostly just liquid coming out this time.

I wiped the sweat from my forehead, then wiped my mouth. Inching to turn the shower on.

Standing caused pain to shoot down my legs and up my back. I bit down onto my lip, forcing my legs to stay steady. "Get it the fuck together Shota."

The cold water helped ease the throbbing in my head. I remembered everything up until the fourth whiskey, grading Kaminari's poor excuse for a paper, waiting for All Might.

Waiting for All Might. Shit.

I reached behind me, finding the tale tell stickiness I assumed would be there. Fuck.

I finished cleaning off and snapped the water off, stepping as gently as possible out of the tub, trying to not make anything hurt worse than it already did. No clothes in sight, I inched back into the bedroom.

There he was, passed out, seven-foot frame barely fitting on the bed. His lanky body covered mostly by the sheets, blonde hair wildly sticking about, eyes peacefully closed, and blueish marks littering the skin of his neck and shoulders. There were random items of clothing all over the room, my lube tipped over on the bedstand.

I grabbed clothes, gathered my bags, set food out for the cat, laid out a few things, and hobbled to the door. Call it a tactical retreat. No way am I letting anyone see me limp like a wounded pup in my own house. What the hell had led to this?

* * *

-Toshinori-

The warm sun washed over me, the warmth waking me. The other side of the bed noticeable cold.

"Aizawa?" I sat up, rubbing my eyes.

The only response was a soft mew from the black and white cat staring at me from the end of the bed, seemingly guarding the small piece of paper next to it.

-Clean yourself up, eat if you need, and get going. Key goes under the mat.-

Ouch.

There was a towel laid out on the bed, a golden key sitting on top of it. I stood, stretching out my limbs and locating my clothes. My pants were still heavy with the weight of my own keys, wallet, and phone. I checked for any messages. Nothing, but saw it was almost noon already. Best sleep I've had in...I don't know how long.

My shirt had a pretty obvious white stain on it, so I grabbed a black shirt from his closet, wrapping mine up into a ball to just carry with me when I left.

His shower was too short, making it hard to wash my hair, but the filth from the night before melting off with ease as the hot water crashed down on my body. The small headache I'd woken with leaving almost immediately, washing down with the warm water.

I dried off, got dressed and pet the little cat that had been following me. I slipped out the door, locking and putting the key under the mat. I would eat back at home.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket, typing.

-Shouldn't a pro have a better spot to hide a key? Lol-

My heart sank as I sent it. What the hell am I even doing? Pretty clear he didn't want to talk, or he'd still be in his own home, enjoying his day off.

Great.

I dialed the number to call for a taxi, walking a block down the street to figure out what street I was even on. They showed up within five minutes.

"UA dormitories, please."

When I got there, I immediately did a load of laundry, washing my dirty clothes as well as the shirt I borrowed. I folded and stuffed the shirt into my briefcase so I wouldn't forget it Monday morning.

* * *

-Aizawa-

I took great care to make sure I didn't run into anyone on my way back to the dorm. Slipping upstairs and into the dark, cool room a sigh came from me. I sank to the bed, pulling the small trashcan over just in case the nausea hit again.

Ding.

-Sholdn't a pro have a better spot to hide a key? Lol-

I threw the phone to the ground, nausea kicking up after reading the text.

Wasn't this shit supposed to stop after college?

The weekend passed by uneventfully, only one more text from Toshinori.

-Should we…talk?-

There wasn't ever a response.

The former Symbol of Peace spent the time anxiously pacing the campus, talking to a few staff members idly before retreating to his dorm to relax before classes picked up in the morning.

The Erasure hero spent most of the time laid up in bed, nursing his still sore body, and reading. Ignoring the texts from both the Symbol of Peace and his friends that were requesting he join them on a quick patrol. No way he was subjecting himself to that without an excuse as to why he was still hobbling.

I got to the classroom early, sitting at my desk before any of the kids, or most of the staff arrived.

Walking was almost back to normal, but no need to have anyone questions unless absolutely necessary. When they all started to file in, I opened my eyes from my quick cat nap. "Iida! Get up here!"

I pulled the stack of papers from my bag, handing them to the tall boy. "Hand these back please." I made my voice louder to address the rest of them. "Okay guys, get together and go over any wrong answers. Figure out where you went wrong and fix it."

I shut my eyes, leaning back as they all got back to work.

"Um, Mister Aizawa?" Momo called from her seat.

"What is it?"

"Well, sir, it says I got an 'F' here. But all of my answers are correct. I've gone over it twice!"

"Mine as well, sir!" Iida called back.

"Yeah, pretty sure mine is wrong too." Todoroki followed up.

Damn. "Well, anyone who needs a regrade bring them up. Thank the good for nothing first year teaching assistants. I'll grade them myself and get back with you."

The rest of class went off without a hitch, the bell finally ringing, sending them off to Midnight for a period.

"Hello?" a singsong voice came from the door, not two minutes after the kids left.

"I'm not in the mood today." I didn't open my eyes.

"Rough weekend?" I could tell she was walking closer to the desk, what's her quirk range?

"I just don't feel like having you in my head, please, can we do this a different day?" I pulled back in my chair as she set on top of one of the kids desks.

"You're anxious."

"Could you stop?"

"I'm getting paid to evaluate if you're stable enough to be teaching your kids, eraser. Not just here to be a helpful hand. I really don't think you want me to go." She pulled one leg up onto the desk, the other dangling.

"You saying my job depends on this?"

She shrugged, "Afraid so, friend."

"So, what then? Can't you just get close to me and know the answer to that?"

"No, I can only tap into the feelings you're experiencing at the moment I'm close to you, and why you're feeling them." She tapped the metal thing around her ear, pushing it back so I could see it. "This is my support item; it helps me lessen my range so I'm not bombarded with everyone's feelings all of the time. I can probe deeper without it, but that takes a toll. I don't like using my quirk on people who don't want me to, but Nezu hasn't ever asked for something like this. He's worried about you, and that makes me worry about you. So, I'll take it off if I need to."

I shifted in my chair, breaking my eyes away from hers. "What do you want to know then?"

She stood from the desk, pulling a chair up to mine, sitting across from me. Her hand went over her heart as she sat.

"I want to know about Izuku Midoria."

"He's a villain I helped train and deliver to All for One. What else is there to know?"

"You feel as if you failed him, why?"

"I don't think you need to ask that."

She gave a small smile, nodding, then her brow furrowing. "You're anxious about being here at the school, not just about being here with me." She looked up at me. "Why?"

I felt my stomach sink, her face filling with redness as she smiled. "Oh. That explains the…uh …discomfort."

"Could you maybe leave that out of your report to Nezu?" She nodded, still smiling. "What?"

"Nothing, just, yeah. This is…not what I was expecting to walk in to!"

I didn't dignify it with a response, just looked outside.

She sat for a moment. "Do you think that it has something to do with Midorias disappearance?"

"Does what have to do with it?"

She smiled again; I didn't need to look to know. "Your sudden relationship with All Might, his mentor?"

"I'm not in a relationship with him, and no, it has to do with a lot of whiskey."

"Which was there to block out sadness, about Midoria." I continued to stare out of the window. "It's okay to be sad, Mister Aizawa. You've had a hard few years."

I scoffed. "Yeah."

"Well, I'll let you go for now. But could I make a suggestion?" I turned my eyes to her, not moving my head or body. "Take a few days off to be sad, really feel it. And maybe figure out what's going on with your coworker? I think you're feeling more than you think you are."

"What?"

She slid the door closed behind her. Great.

When the kids were back I had them do a free study for an imaginary test I told them about, buying me at least an hour of panic studying from them. Once they were good and immersed in their studies I moved to the door, calling out that I'd be back before sliding out into the empty hallway.

I walked almost steadily through the halls, to the elevators, and stopped outside the staff room.

"It was a total riot, man! You would've loved it!" Present's voice boomed down the hallway.

"I-I have no doubt!" Toshinori laughed, twisting the knot in my stomach tighter.

I took a breath and stepped around the corner, getting as far into the room as I could before either turned to look. "Mic? I need a favor."

"Yo?" he turned, smiling at me.

"Can you go keep an eye on my class for just a minute?"

He tilted his head questioningly, walking around me. "Yeeeeah, man. I got ya!"

I snapped the door shut behind me, still not having looked at All Might.

"Uh, hey," his throat cleared, shuffling around at the table.

"What exactly happened the… other day? What do you remember?" I met his eyes now, his hand stopping half in his brief case, half out.

"Oh, uh, well." He averted his eyes for a second. "What do you remember?"

"I remember grading papers at the bar, then waking up to..." I cleared my throat, motioning to him.

"Oh, so, you don't remember…anything?" his brow furrowed for just a second.

"Would I be embarrassing myself like this if I did?"

"What do you mean by that exactly?" his eyes met mine again, harder this time.

"It means we're coworkers. That can't happen again."

"Thought you didn't remember anything happening?"

"Don't be dense, I put it together pretty quickly once I drug myself to the shower."

His face flushed, knotting my stomach again. "Oh, yeah, you didn't let me help with that before-"

"Wait, so you remember... _all_ of it?"

The tall man nodded, standing, I averted my eyes from the fading blue mark on his neck.

"So you were sober, and still slept with me while I was blackout?"

He shook his head, moving to put a hand on my shoulder, "No, I had drank enough to dispel any inhibitions I may have had at the time…but, yeah, I remember it all."

"Great." I shrank away from his hand. "Well, we're about to have a problem."

He dropped the hand to his side. "Why's that?"

"Nezu is about to hear about it from that Empath."

His face drained of color. "I…forgot you had a meeting with her today."

"Yeah. Went swimmingly, let me tell you."

"How much could she…?"

I shrugged. "I don't think she could know a lot of the details since I don't, but if he's planning on introducing the two of you today, be prepared."

"Can she even tell Nezu what is said during sessions?"

"She's not a doctor, All Might. Yeah, she could tell the entire school, the media even, if she wanted. But she doesn't seem the type to do that."

He nodded, sitting back down, reaching into his briefcase. He pulled out a folded shirt, "I borrowed this, then washed it. I needed something to get home in."

I grabbed the shirt, tucking it under my arm.

"So…?" his large hand rubbed the back of his head.

"So?"

"You quirked up while you were drunk. Almost fell off of a building."

I shifted to my other foot, pinching the bridge of my nose. "Of course, I did. Anyone see me?"

"Just me, I'm pretty sure."

We sat in silence for a minute. "Anything else I should know about?"

He sat there, staring at me, large hands pressed together, chin resting on his thumbs. "Yeah, I think there is. You told me that you think you should go after Midoria. I disagreed and you took off, in a fit. I tried to catch up to you so we could have an actual conversation, but I couldn't catch you until you were in your house. I got a bit angry with you and midsentence you… well you know... jumped me."

I always was a sucker for mouthy guys when I drank. I just nodded.

"And, more than that," he stood again. "I'd like to see you again."


	2. Conflict

"You… what?" I dropped my hand from my face. "Don't do that… Don't go down this road, All Might. Nobody walks away happy from this kind of thing."

"What makes you say that?" He took a long step towards me; I held my ground.

"So long as we are both teachers at this school, we have no reason to be having this conversation. I won't date a coworker."

"Just sleep with them?" his voice waivered but the fierceness never left the blue eyes boring into me.

"I didn't know what I was doing."

A redness found its way to his cheeks, "You certainly seemed like you knew what you were doing to me."

I shifted my weight, putting my hands to my temples, headache returning.

He cleared his throat, and crossed his wiry arms over his chest. "I know you're feeling stressed about…all of this. But I feel like maybe… you are interested, just maybe. Yeah, we work around the same building, but I don't see why that's a problem." He paused, inching closer as I continued to rub my temples, willing the headache to go. "I've tried getting close to you in the past, just to be pushed aside. For a while I thought you just didn't like me as a person, so I dropped it. But then we spent so much time together for a while right after Izuku disappeared, and after the other night… I think you might be feeling at least a little of what I'm feeling."

My shoulders sagged down, resigning themselves to a day of a throbbing ache on the brain. "I don't know, All Might. I just… I know this isn't the time or place to be talking about this."

"I think we need to talk more about it."

"Well I don't feel like talking." Toshinori's mouth tipped up into a smile when I said it. "What?"

"Nothing, you've just…yeah," he took a step back, dropping the thought and giving me my personal space back. "I will leave you be for now; I know you don't want to talk here. But…can we please have a conversation about this? Maybe over dinner instead of drinks this time?"

"Sure," the ache making a home just behind my eyes. "Dinner."

He smiled, "Dinner then!"

* * *

-Toshinori-

I hit the button on the elevator, headed back to my office. Time to get it over with.

The door was already open when I got there, her legs kicked up onto the coffee table, leaning back in a chair.

"Miss Yaeko!" I shut the door behind me.

"Toshinori!" she jumped up, extending her arms for a hug, which I took. "It's great to see you! You look fantastic!"

She moved her eyes over me as I chuckled, "Yeah, you too! Consciousness suits me! Doesn't it?"

"I do prefer to actually speak to you, like this." She smiled up at me, sitting back in the chair. "But I can already tell how stormy you're feeling. There's no reason to play at everything being fine, talk to me."

I sat next to her, shaking my head, "I don't even know where to begin."

"…How about Midoria?"

I felt my throat already beginning to tighten, shaking my head again. "I miss him, I know I'm not supposed to. I know he's hurt people, but I miss who he was before all of that. The boy that jumped in to help, despite being quirkless, who'd sacrifice his pride in a second to bolster the person next to him, the boy that just _cared_ so much! And he's gone. Now that… Now All for One wears his face, and I can't seem to separate the Izuku I knew from the one out there terrorizing the streets."

She nodded, her eyes starting to look glossy too. "It's okay to mourn someone who is alive, but lost to you. You don't have to hold on to all of that. Grieve him, Toshinori. Grieve before it drives you mad."

"I'm trying."

She put her hand on my knee, "I know you are."

I found my breath shaking, she waited, aloowing me to compose myself. "Thank you, Yaeko. I always find it so easy to talk to you."

"Well, that's my job, Toshinori! I know there's more to dig through here, but I'll be around for a few days. We can take our time," she wiped her eyes. "Was there anything else you wanted to talk about today? Maybe…someone?"

I shook my head, "Not yet."

She nodded. "Okay, well, I can respect that. However, I think he needs to sort through things a bit more…. urgently than you do. So, if you two can't smooth it out on your own, I'll have to make you do a session together probably at the end of the week. I don't like to meddle too much, so won't be telling either of you specifics of what the other is feeling, but I will say this, his mind is clearer today than it was Friday."

"I didn't even tell him I know you, he already seemed so stressed that you're here. Thought if I said anything it'd feel like he was getting ganged up on."

"Probably for the best. For right now, anyway." She stood back up, stepping to the door, "Do you want to go get something from the cafeteria, maybe you can tell me more about the Midoria you knew?"

"I'd like that, I think."

* * *

-Aizawa-

The next morning, I got to school early to properly caffeinate before facing the high energy group of heroes for the staff meeting. The creamer I poured into the dark liquid making it smell like home and comfort, oddly enough, making me feel sleepier than I had. Half of the mug's contents warmed my gut before I topped it off, tucked the paper under my arm, and headed for the conference room.

"DUDE! You so stoked or what?!" Mic clapped me on the back, nearly sending the precious liquid life spilling as he quickly strutted in ahead of me. "Ope, sorry! You good?"

A grunt escaped me, stepping through the door he held open.

"Good! Man, we got some stuff in MOTION! So, drink up and pay attention!" his grin took up his entire face, any bigger and his head would've disappeared completely.

"Mhm," I slid into the rolling chair at the far end of the table, leaning back to relax until everyone else arrived. Hopefully avoiding Nezu's gaze in the meantime.

I heard them all shuffling in, finding seats, yawning, making idle conversation, and settling in as the actual meeting time drew closer.

"Hello everyone, and good morning!" Nezu sat in an oversized chair, smiling at everyone. "We have a lot of big things to go over today, so please save questions until the end so we can get through this and still prep for the day. Send these around please."

He handed a stack of file folders to Snipe and Hound Dog to pass down to the rest of us.

"As you will see inside, the annual rivalry camp will be coming up this week! I know, I know, a bit sudden, but we had to adjust our schedules and move everything up due to an expected raid taking place next week that some of you are expected to take part in." he shuffled through a few of the papers in front of him. "Cementoss, if you would be so kind, we are also hoping to have you pay a visit to Shiketsu to help them add the living space and training areas a bit quicker, I can relieve you of your class load and, of course, cover travel fees if you'd like to go today or tomorrow."

Cementoss nodded, looking over the file in his hands.

"Additionally, I have already sent out emails to parents regarding the updates, their responses should be coming through to each students homeroom teacher, so the four of you in charge of second and third year hero courses, be looking out for those and let me know if any students end up having scheduling conflicts."

"What is this about?" Ectoplasm held up a single sheet of brightly colored paper as Vlad handed me my file folder.

Hands slammed on the tabletop, making most of us jump. "That, my dudes, is where I'm coming at you!" Mics voice ripped through the room, his excitement releasing a low level of his quirk.

"Mic!" Midnight shouted at him, immediately zapping the voice hero into obedient silence.

"That," Nezu smirked, leaning forward in his chair. "Is how we will start boosting the public's perception of us again after these past few months. As well as bringing in more funds for this years sports festival. Present Mic, if you'd like to take it from there?"

Most of the room probably didn't pick up on his side eye to Midnight and her barely there nod to him before he opened his mouth to speak, but I certainly didn't miss it.

"Alright everybody, you ready for this!?" his grin was inescapable, we all just waited for him to continue. "We're going to be working with a partner studio of mine to…wait for it….! Drop some tracks with some up and coming artists!"

His excited squeal drowned out by the room suddenly coming to life.

"We're WHAT?" Power Loaders voice seemed horse.

"Yeah, no," Vlad sat back in his chair.

"This is voluntary, right?" Thirteen's voice dwarfed.

The room filled with protests, Mic unphased by everyone's negativity. "So, here's the deal guys! Imma be heading this whole thing up, so if you get me your base schedules I can clear out some studio time to make sure everybody has enough time. We can do some coaching and figure out who to pair you with and what kinda songs work for everybody! If you've got some playin' skills then you can opt to use your instrument instead of sing, but we'll go over that! Come on guys! This is totally awesome!" He started pulling papers out of his own bag, running around handing them to each hero. "I've already got some base ideas for you all to go over and get back with me on. Let's do this thaaang!"

* * *

-Toshinori-

I felt the cough bubble in my throat as Mic slipped a bright yellow sheet in front of me.

"Okay, okay, yes," Nezu chimed in, Mic taking the cue to quiet but still prancing around, excitedly sliding sheets to his coworkers. "I know some of you have your reservations, but this is precisely the kind of silliness that the public eats up. Do this, and we can probably let you coast on public appearances for most of, if not the entire, year. This is _not _optional, and you will _all_ be showing up for this. Right, Eraser?"

He had stayed leaned back in his chair, coffee in one hand, file in the other. He was flipping through it with that bored, sleepy expression he never seemed to part with until he was well into the afternoon. "Yes, sir."

Wow. Really? No menacing glares or witty comments?

Nezu opened his mouth, interrupted by Mic, "I'm so PUMPED you guys!"

Certainly, they wouldn't want me to do it? I'm not a pro anymore. But here they were, a list of eight suggested songs and various things listed under styles/genres that all sounded foreign to me.

"Okay, Present Mic," Nezu spoke back up. "We will be working the details of this over soon, Mic taking the lead, but for now, let's get back to business!"

I pulled my phone out and began searching for web results on some of the terms that were in bold on my paper while Nezu went over the weeks plans with the homeroom teachers for the lowerclassmen. Without being able to click on anything I quickly realized it was research best meant for at home. Present was practically buzzing in his chair for the rest of the meeting. And Aizawa just continued flipping through the pages of his file folder, how did the underground hero seem so relaxed? The mention of press at the gates elicits profanity, but an album drop is just…boring?

What all even goes into a thing like that? Are we just expected to know how to…be musical? What artist would want to be paired with a no longer pro, has been hero? Not much of a portfolio boost.

"All Might," Aizawa had his back to me, standing at the door he'd apparently held for the other retreating heroes that I hadn't even realized had concluded the meeting. "Quit panicking and get to class."

-Aizawa-

I sat at the front of the class, idly answering their questions about their upcoming camp with the Shiketsu class. Four-day trip where they'd train and team build with their rival school, and this year, thank whatever forces of the universe that came together, it was hosted by Shiketsu. Meaning four days to catch up on paperwork, teach one class to the underclassmen, and relax.

"No, Mineta, it's separated sleeping halls, and they've already been warned to keep an eye on you, so don't try anything dumb."

He huffed back into his seat, mumbling a 'Yes sir.' The creepy fucking smile on his face making me take note to tell Iida to keep an eye on him as well and send another reminder to Shiketsu's teachers.

"Now, I trust that you're all going to conduct yourselves just as you would if I were going to be there. I'll have near constant communication with the staff there and I _will_ hear if someone's slacking off. And I will run you all like a pack of dogs if you even try to have any midnight rendezvous, am I understood?"

A mixture of nods, eye rolls, and 'Yessir's later I let them go back to their free study of the material we'd gone over that morning.

Ding!

-How would you feel about having that dinner tonight?-

I retreated into the yellow cocoon waiting in the corner, so the kids wouldn't complain about my phone being out and the 'unfairness of' it all.

-Can't. I've got first campus patrol tonight.-

-Well, if you'll be too tired that's fine. If not, I don't usually have dinner until pretty late anyway. It'll be done at nine if you change your mind.-

A link came in the next message, I dropped the phone into my pocket before settling into the sleeping bag for a quick nap.

The bell rang, releasing the students from their desks and interrupting my rest.

"Hey, lover boy!" Midnight appeared in the doorway almost immediately. "Drinks tonight with Hizashi?"

I shook my head. "I'm first patrol tonight."

"Ugh, fine, but I expect you make time in your schedule soon. Need to break up your broodiness with some fun now and again!" She winked, side stepping so I could pass through. "Promise you'll come out this weekend?"

"I'll promise no such thing." A promise to midnight, in any capacity, could turn dangerous fast.

"Spoil sport," she smiled, hitting the button for the elevator. "We're going to the club Saturday, stop by if you can. He'll be DJing, I think he'd like if you showed up. Even if it's just for a little while."

"By the sound of it, Hizashi will be taking up more than enough of my time soon. He can handle a club run without me."

"Oh, I suppose you're right." She put her finger to her lips, tapping it as the elevator took us up a level. "What do you think you're going to do for that?"

"Yamada will probably drag me into some ridiculous project. I'm not going to try and plan anything."

"Think you'll have to do instrumentals as Eraser?"

"I don't know, probably." I rewove the scarf around my neck, untangling hair from it as we stepped into the hall. "You know if the training grounds are in use tonight?"

"Uh, I can't imagine they would be. Most classes are running around like beheaded chickens getting ready for the camp. What are you going to do with the time?"

"Grade, mostly. Then, hopefully, absolutely nothing." I pulled the door open to the staff room, letting her sway past me.

She chuckled, "Always the go getter, huh?"

"Oh yeah,"

"Aizawa, got a minute?" Vlad was putting his uniform in his locker, already dressed in his street clothes to go home.

"Yeah?"

"I've got Setsuna working with a support item a bit like yours, essentially just used to propel her body through the air before she splits. She's having some trouble; think you could help?"

...

The campus started to feel comfortable once the kids all scurried to their dorms. Something about looking across the courtyard and not seeing another soul made it… better.

Patrols started by dividing the campus into three sections, one for thirteen, one being monitored by the bots, and the biggest section I took as to have access to the training grounds once my shift was over. Only downside being the sheer size of the portion I took on, meaning that at all times I had to be in motion in order to keep the grounds covered. Using it as a training opportunity I activated my quirk, allowing me to more easily maneuver my scarf through the air, zipping me past the trees and buildings of the training grounds easily.

Slinging up into the air, releasing both the scarfs hold on its anchor and my quirk, then letting gravity do its work while I rested my eyes. Attaching to a new anchor point and slinging back into the air, release and repeat. Maneuvering through the air, shifting and twisting my legs and torso to make proper turns and pulls. The movements forcing my entire body to work at getting to the other side of our assigned perimeter.

A decade ago, three hours of near constant motion would have simply been a good workout. But years of abuse and cigarettes take their toll eventually. My lungs and eyes both hit their limit just after two and a half hours, forcing me into a slower place. Sweat still soaked my forehead when I rounded a corner, nearly wiping Snipe off his feet, a quick tightening of my capture weapon sending me spinning just over his head, barely sticking the landing on the walkway behind him.

"Jesus, Eraser! Some warning next time,"

"I could say the same, wasn't expecting anyone for another half hour."

"It's already seven thirty, I'm late."

I grabbed my phone, screen verifying that my internal clock had been off. "Oh," I began wrapping my scarf back around my neck. "Then, why are you late."

"I ran into a few fans on my way in. I'm not very good at ducking the small talk."

I tried steadying my breathing to soothe my burning lungs. "I was going to get in a workout before I head out, if you don't mind my sticking around."

"It looks like you've already had one." He paused for a minute. A sigh huffed out of him, reaching a hand around his head, snapping his mask off. "Aizawa… man. You need to breathe."

"I _am_," labored maybe, but breathing none the less.

"You know that's not what I'm saying." It was weird seeing his face, in all the years knowing him, this was the third time seeing it. First time while he'd been sober. "You're religiously rational, right? So, you tell me, how is running yourself into the ground over this the rational thing to do?"

"What are you even talking about?" I straightened my back, making myself just barely taller than him.

"Posturing won't do anything for you here." He closed the distance between us, looking up at me. "How long have we been working together? Don't act dense. You think we don't all know you've spiraling since All for One?"

"Back up, Snipe."

"I've heard Midnight and Mic talking about it. Maybe if it were just us coworkers thinking you're withdrawing it wouldn't be a big deal, but they're your friends. If you're having issues coping that's fine. We all do! Seeing the shit that we do on the job, there's no way anyone could handle it all in stride. But you're a grown ass man, Eraser, get a fucking therapist and quit acting like a child!"

"My friends have big mouths," I put my hands in my pockets so he wouldn't see them clench. "And I am coping just fine."

I turned away from him, towards the lights of the main campus.

"It'll catch up to you, man." He called out but didn't move to follow. "If you can't get it under control it might just be in the field. Admitting you're having trouble is better than being dead!"

"Which is why I would, _if_ I were!"

A rip sounded through the air, directly above my shoulder. I leapt to the side, eyes immediately stinging from activation and zoning in on Snipes face.

"What the _FUCK_ do you think you're doing?!" the snarl couldn't be bit down this time.

"Go ahead, I don't need my quirk to get your attention." His gun still pointed from his shot.

"You just attacked another hero, Snipe. You willing to risk your fucking license for this?"

"If I was trying to shoot you then I would've." He dropped the barrel, letting it go back to its holster. "You're looking for a fucking fight, and if it isn't with me, you'll find it somewhere else."

"I was looking to workout, not a fight! Don't make me out to be the instigator when you just fired a shot two inches from my face." I turned once more, away from him. "Fire again and this gets ugly. Let me walk."

I tried ignoring the throbbing in my chest, still trying to recover from the patrol and now from the adrenaline. Shit.

* * *

-Toshinori-

I turned the small Bluetooth speaker down, waiting to see if I could hear it again.

_Knock. _A single hard knock on the front door. I spun to look at the clock I'd covered after finding myself checking it every two minutes. Eight forty.

I snapped the rice cooker off, tossing my cooking apron to the counter before heading to answer it.

_Knock._

"Just a moment!"

I pulled the door open; he still wore his normal black jumpsuit, scarf, and sleek leather boots, and his hair even wilder than usual.

"Hey there! Come on in!" I side stepped so he could pass, but he didn't move. He stood in the door, dark eyes just staring at me. "Uh, everything okay?"

He blinked finally, looking ahead as if my question had snapped him out of a trance, and stepping through the door. "Yeah, fine."

"You, uh, don't…seem fine."

"So, you think I'm spiraling as well?" his voice remained flat, standing at the end of the entryway, just looking around the room with his back to me.

I shut the door, but I didn't go to move around him. "What do you mean?"

Silence.

"Aizawa?" I finally stepped around, the pot on the stove needed turned off, but I didn't quite make it there before he spoke again.

"Snipe shot at me."

"What!?"

"Snipe, he shot at me."

His face remained blank, "Okay, I'm going to need a little more than that! Are you alright?"

I could feel his dark eyes on me as I did a quick inventory. He hadn't been walking with a limp, no visible blood, clothes all seemed intact, no bullet holes, and he seemed responsive enough.

"I'm fine."

"Is he?"

His brow furrowed, "I probably wouldn't have come had I just killed another hero. He didn't hit me, so I let it go."

What the… "Why did he shoot at you?!"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Says I'm spiraling, that I need a therapist," he made eye contact now. "What do you think?"

I swallowed hard, his entire demeanor had changes from the sleepy, laid back teacher to just… something else, something intense and almost intimidating.

"I thought you didn't like my advice."

"I don't like you putting your two cents in when not asked. Now I'm asking."

"Oh," I turned away, headed back to the kitchen. "I think… I think you need to talk to someone that knows what they're doing. Be that a therapist, or Yaeko, or even just your friends, I think actually talking about it would be beneficial."

I turned the pot off, grabbing a couple plates from the cabinet as I spoke, hoping to avoid his eyes until the harshness left them. "What would you like to drink? I have tea, beer, I think there may be some canned coffee, but I don't have a regular coffee maker, sorry."

"Water?"

"Of course."

He silently watched as I dished out food onto the plates.

"Yaeko, huh?" his tone had changed, interrogatory.

"Uh, yeah. I've known her for a few years. After my last battle with All for One, they brought her in to help me…navigate a little easier." I sat the plates on the table, "Kare raisu! Hope you're hungry, there's a lot of it!"

"Why didn't you tell me that you knew her the other day?"

This isn't how this was supposed to be going. I shrugged, turning to look back at him after setting the drinks and silverware down. "She said you might feel like you were being ganged up on."

His eyes narrowed for just a moment, mouth opening to say something…but stopped, taking a sniff and finally looking at the table.

"Come sit down, I can't imagine you ate during patrols, you've gotta be starving!" I pulled out his chair and mine, plopping down onto mine and tapping the seat to his, smiling at him.

He finally moved from the entryway, stepping into the dining room area. "You can cook?"

"Yeah," I smiled, picking up my spoon. "I'm no chef or anything, but I make do."

He sat down, still looking at me from under the curtain of his jet hair and picked up his spoon. "Thanks."

"Thank you for coming! Not that I mind leftovers, but I'd be eating this for every meal this week!" I laughed, taking a bite of the curry.

He stuck a small spoonful into his mouth and, I swear, something between a growl and a moan came from his mouth just before he swallowed it down.

I choked back the blood that came to my mouth when I coughed.

"So, you can like… _cook_." He began shoveling food into his mouth, tension finally seeming to leave him.

"Well, thank you. I'm glad you like it!" Watching him scarf the food down brought a smile to my face. "So, you want to talk about what happened with Snipe?"

His head shook, swallowing a bite. "It wasn't anything, I'll talk to him in the morning."

"You…will?" I took another bite of my own.

"I'm not antisocial, All Might. I talk to people all the time; I just don't see the point in talking about something that's done and over with." He took a drink of the ice water. "Midoria is a full-fledged villain, as his teacher it's partially my fault for not realizing what he needed. What else is there to talk about?"

I finished chewing and swallowed the bite. "Why do you think it's your fault?"

"You don't think we hold responsibility?" his eyes finally moved from the plate and back to me, as he popped another bite in his mouth.

"I do. I think you should have tried connecting with him more, but that's where your blame ends." I set my spoon down, grabbing my drink. "He is his own person; I do think you should have recognized that more. However, that goes to saying that he is also old enough to make his own decisions. We may find ourselves feeling responsible for what happened, for putting him in situations that allowed that to happen, but he also chose to be there. He chose to go off on his own instead of staying and receiving help. He is the one that chose to start attacking people."

I could feel my throat tightening and took a long drink to push it down.

"I don't think I've ever heard you talk about him like that…" he was staring at me, spoon paused midair.

"Like what?"

"Like an adult… instead of a child in need of coddling."

"Aren't you feeling guilty because you didn't coddle him?" taking another drink to avoid his eyes.

"Coddling and paying attention are two separate things. I got lazy." He began eating again.

"You were splitting attention between twenty different students, nothing about that is lazy. You knew he had a second mentor when most of your other students didn't, it makes sense that you may have let some of that responsibility slip, rightfully so, for the record."

"You're being so…" his brow furrowed again, looking down at his plate. "Calm."

I shrugged, taking another bite.

"I'm sorry I acted the way I did," he cleared his throat, still looking at the small portion of food left in front of him. "When we met at the bar."

I swallowed my bite. "Things tend to come to the surface easier after a few drinks, happens to the best of us."

"It wasn't professional." He took another large bite.

I couldn't help but chuckle. "Well, you're right, it wasn't." My heart began beating just a little quicker. "But I don't mind that. You got to let out a little pent up frustration and… I don't just want us to be strictly professional with each other."

He set the spoon down on the now empty plate, pushing his hair back, sighing.

"If that just means we're friends, then okay. I'll take what I can get." I suddenly became aware of my pulse in basically every part of my body.

I heard him take a deep breath but focused on taking another bite of my own.

"Why are you suddenly interested?"

I chuckled again, bringing a hand to cover my mouth so I could talk around my bite. "It's certainly not sudden."

"It seems sudden."

I swallowed the bite, his voice barely heard over the blood pounding in my ears. "I've had feelings for you since the USJ. It seemed like you moved from hating me to tolerating me after we spoke to the student's families together about dorms, but it still didn't feel like you much cared for my company, so I didn't press. But it doesn't seem as forward to talk to you about it now that…"

"Now that we've slept together?" his eyes met mine again.

"Yeah," I put the spoon down, pushing my plate away. "I know you don't want to be in a romantic relationship with a coworker, and I've been thinking about that. So, yeah, that's fine. I won't go back to acting like we're just coworkers though."

"All M-"

"Please, stop calling me that." I drank the last of my tea. "I'm Toshinori Yagi, not just All Might."

He sat in silence for a minute, those dark eyes staring into my soul. Finally breaking the silence, leaning forward, clasping his hands together on the tabletop. "Where exactly do you see this going?"

I shrugged again, "Like I said, I'm fine just being friends. If it turns to more than that in the future, all the better, if not then I've gained a friend."

"I don't think friendship builds naturally when one party has made a confession."

"I've heard Midnight proposition you?"

The corner of his mouth tilted up for just a second, before disappearing. "Midnight is different, she wants sex from anyone conscious and willing, not a relationship."

I laughed, motioning to his plate. "That's fair. Would you like more?"

He nodded, standing, "I'll get it, you've hardly eaten anything."

"I can't eat much in one sitting." He walked past, his black form looking incredibly out of place in the well-lit kitchen.

I sat, sipping my tea while he got a second helping and sat back at the table, canned coffee in hand. "I have been friends with Midnight for decades, she makes having relationships with coworkers look easy. I've seen it time and time again, but I'm not her. I can't be in a relationship with someone that might interfere with the quality of care I can give my students. Say there is an attack on the school, what's my job?"

"Keep the kids safe, either by engaging or evacuating."

"Exactly. Now say I were in a relationship with someone on campus, someone who doesn't have the ability to defend themselves with a quirk. Who do you think my mind would be telling me to protect, the room full of people deemed most likely to break pro ranking records for any past class of UA, or the person I was seeing?"

"Aizawa, I wouldn't ever ask you to choose between your students or me. I'm a grown man, quirk or not. Your priority should always be the kids."

"You're right, it should. I know that it wouldn't be though, which is why I have to say no to any kind of romantic relationship with a coworker." he took a bite, closing his eyes when it hit his tongue, then practically swallowed immediately. "But…"

I clenched both hands around my cup, trying to keep my face telling my nerves.

"I'd be lying if I said everything I thought and felt towards you these past few days was professional…or even platonic."

My breath caught. "W-What?"

He took another bite, meeting my eyes and shrugging.

"Well, what- what exactly do you mean by that?"

"It means that walking around for three days like I'd been properly fucking impaled may have caused inappropriate thoughts to stir whenever you're around."

* * *

-Aizawa-

The adrenaline wore off by the first plate of food, but the violent, bloody coughing fit he broke into brought just a bit of it back. "Are you good?"

He held a bloody finger up, still coughing. Wait.

I remembered seeing a wine-colored cloth in the kitchen and went to grab it, getting it damp in the sink while he came out of his coughing fit. "Here."

"Thank you," his voice still had the strange wetness it always did when he had a coughing fit, but he was smiling, his face turning bright red from what blood was left in his body rushing to his cheeks.

"I thought it'd get a laugh, maybe, but damn. I didn't mean to hurt you."

He coughed lightly with his laugh, wiping his mouth again, "Guess I could say the same."

I sat back down, taking another bite of the incredibly good food.

"So…what…where does that leave us?"

I swallowed another bite, washing it down with the canned coffee. "It leaves us primed for a potentially awkward conversation."

"Potentially? I think we're already there!" he laughed again, hearing All Might laugh was a daily occurrence back when he still strutted around in front of the media, but his laugh was different like this, more natural.

"Well, let's get into the thick of it then." I cleared my throat, turning to look him in his freakishly bright blue eyes. "I don't think there's an issue with causal sex between two consenting adults. I know sex isn't a casual thing for a lot of people though, even if their drunk selves disagree, so I'd like to know your take on it."

He just stared, face staying that bright shade of red. "I'm sorry…" he shook his head. "My take on w-what?"

"Casual sex," I spoke around the bite I'd just taken.

"How can you talk about this like it's the weather?" another short chuckle.

I shrugged, "I don't think it's something to be embarrassed about. We're all human, most of us have the same base needs. I'm not embarrassed to talk about wanting to eat when I'm hungry, why should I be embarrassed about wanting sex?"

"Wait." He shook his head again, rubbing a hand over his face. "So, you want us to just…have sex with each other?"

I pushed the now empty plate back, leaning back in the large wooden chair. "If that's not something you're interested in, that's totally fine. Just an offer."

"An offer?" it didn't sound like the question was directed at me, so I waited for him to continue. "I- I don't know. I have actual feelings for you, I wouldn't be able to promise I'd always be okay with that."

"You're the one so keen on talking, just tell me if you're not okay with it at any point, including now. You can't agree to this if it's going to drain on you."

He sat quietly for a minute, staring at the table, elbows planted on it and face resting on his thumbs. "This is…. insane."

Damn. "You could've just said no."

"No, I don't mean…" he chuckled again, dropping his hands, meeting my eyes again. "All those years as All Might and the first time I get asked to be someone's fuck buddy I'm…this." He motioned to himself.

"I much prefer you to the Symbol of Peace."

His eyes narrowed, "Then why don't you call me by my name?"

I thought about it for a moment. It's hard not to think of Toshinori Yagi and All Might, Symbol of Peace as two different people, but he just acted so much different without his powered-up form. "I have continued to call you All Might because for awhile it seemed like you were separating your hero work accomplishments with the rest of your new life. Everything that All Might accomplished was also accomplished by Toshinori Yagi, they aren't different people. It's hard to keep that up when you act so differently depending on what you look like, though."

"What do you mean?"

"It means you were a fake as All Might. You always kept that fake smile on your face, forced yourself to laugh when it didn't come naturally, acted like the world was yours, and it pretty much was. Those things made you less of a person and more of a Symbol, which is what you were going for, so good job. But it made you hard to relate to as a person. I prefer you to laugh, eat, drink, fuck, sleep, work when you want to, not because you feel you must. When I feel like you're being true to that, I'll quit calling you All Might."

He was quiet again, brow furrowed. Great, maybe too far here.

"So, you weren't more attracted to me…back then?"

"You want honesty?"

He nodded.

"Couldn't fucking stand you back then."

It furrowed more.

"Does that bother you?"

"I mean…yeah. I always worked so hard to be likeable as All Might, so… I don't know."

"Most people found it likeable, and you're likeable now, so don't think about it that hard."

"So… you're…attracted to me? Now?"

Oh, bloody hell. "I'm not exactly sure how much clearer I can be about that. I've already asked if you wanted to have sex."

"Casual sex though, that's just as much a convenience thing," his eyes hardened when he looked to my face again.

"What part of this process has been convenient so far?"

He sat quietly for a second, his mouth breaking into a smile, "We we're both going to be in Tokyo."

I nodded, "Fair. But, for the sake of clarity." I stood, putting my hands on the table to lean into them. "No, I am not willing to officially date you while we are working at UA together. Nor am I willing to give up my position to enter a relationship with someone I hardly know outside of the work environment. But, yes, I want to have a physical relationship with you if you're comfortable with that. And, yes, I am attracted to Toshinori Yagi infinitely more than I was ever attracted to the Symbol of Peace. Any other questions?"

His eyes stayed on mine, biting his lip as he stood. "A thousand."

Quicker than he usually moved these days, he was around the table, hand in my hair and his mouth on mine.

* * *

A/N: Holy crap guys! I got four requests for really, _really _specific situations to appear in this chapter and I tried to do them all justice (or introduce their ideas at least) while keeping the base idea of my story intact. It proved SUPER difficult and made this the longest it's ever taken me to write a chapter, trying to get a flow going. So, I will only be taking one requested situation for each chapter from now on! Sorry! Pleasing everyone is just as impossible in writing as it is anything else, so my apologies if you don't see your featured in the next chapter, but hopefully it means more content sooner! I already have about half of the third installment finished, so I'll try posting that in the next few days!

Lots of love!

Also: NSFW officially starts next chapter, reader beware!


	3. Memorable Contact

-Aizawa-

His hand worked down to my scalp, pulling the hair to pull my face up to his. The copper taste of blood filled his mouth, almost masked by the curry he'd made us. His other hand found its way to my back, pulling me into him as he leaned against the table. An immediate heat pulled from my stomach, warming my entire body as my hands found his hipbones. Sliding one up his shirt, I felt his breath catch as my hands slid across the smooth skin of his back and up between his shoulder blades.

I latched lightly onto his lip, forcing them to part so I could explore more of the taste with my tongue. His breath hitched again, pulling my head back to reality, I pulled my hands back to rest on his hips, pushing my head back against his hand.

"I need a shower, and I think you should think about this for a night before we… go any further."

He chuckled, letting his hand fall from my hair but keeping one on my back. "We've already gone further."

I couldn't help cracking a smile at the rasp in his voice just from the few seconds of heated contact. "Not sober, we haven't."

"Don't suppose I could convince you to shower here and let me think later?"

I shook my head, stepping back from him. "No, you need to make sure you're alright with this. We're not kids, I think we can keep our heads about us another twenty-four hours, yeah?"

-Toshinori-

I could tell I was grinning like an idiot when he pulled away, saying we needed to wait, and went to clear his dishes like he'd been here a hundred times before. The stupid thing just wouldn't leave my face. Even when he headed out the door.

"So, tomorrow then?" I leaned against the open door.

"Tomorrow, but this stays between us. Midnight gets ahold of it and we can say goodbye to any shred of privacy from the staff or…probably the public."

"You got it."

His mouth turned up in a smile, the only part of his face visible while he looked over his shoulder at me from under the shining black mane and scarf bulking around his neck. "I'll see you at work then."

"See you!" I shut the door and had to calm the butterflies where my stomach used to be.

He'd only been here an hour and ate enough curry to feed an army, suggested we sleep together regularly, kissed me, and take off before the night busses even started to slow.

Tomorrow then.

…..

It felt like being twenty again, waking up early to make sure I could shower and pick out a nicer outfit than usual. I decided on a dark blue button up, dark jeans, added a tie at the last minute, remembering the outfit was for a school I had to teach at, not attend. The butterflies were back, making me decide that tea should probably be my breakfast. I was chuckling to myself the entire morning, barely getting ahold of myself enough to walk through the front gate of the school, stupid smile still wouldn't leave though.

"Good morning!" the staff room was always full this time of the morning, coffee and tea being made, lesson plans getting finished off before facing the hordes of teens inhabiting the rest of the school.

"Good morn- Jesus, Toshinori, baby. Why do you do this to me?!" Nemuri turned on her heel, licking her lips. "Come in here looking like a whole meal."

"I didn't know you had clothes that actually fit you!" Mic smiled big, knowing I'd catch the tease.

"Not many, but they're around!" I plopped down into the chair Nemuri had gotten up from to gather her bags. "How's everyone's mornings going?"

"Ready for this camp to start." Vlad said, watching Power loader was tinker with the coffee maker. "You're going to break the damn thing worse than it already is."

"No, I'm not," he didn't bring his head out from behind it to tell him.

"Yeah, you probably are," Snipe and Vlad laughed.

"I still have three classes a day for the underclassmen, so I'm not even planning on doing anything." Snipe looked to me. "What's your class load going to look like?"

"I also have three a day, so I'll probably just lesson plan and grade for an extra period or so to get as ahead as possible and just head home early."

The warning bell sounded, five minutes until first class.

"Hey, I wanted to ask you something later, I could come by your class during my free period." I stood from the chair, grabbing the tea Nemuri had been nice enough to sit in front of me.

He looked over at me, face impossible to determine from under the mask. "Uh, okay. My free period is the same as yours though, no need to come to the class. Mett here?"

"Sure thing! Thanks, Snipe!" I walked from the room with my briefcase, getting into the elevator down to classroom level with a pack of the other teachers, Aizawa nowhere to be found. Weird.

I pulled out my phone once I stepped out the doors, clicking over to our messages.

-No coffee this morning? Who even are you?-

I put it back in my pocket and took off down the hall.

….

With only a handful of questionable comments from the students, the first couple periods went rather smoothly. Our lessons tend to scale back whenever an event, such as camp, was coming up, even for the underclassmen, so the students tend to be pretty agreeable. By the time the third bell rang I was still feeling pretty good, smile still plastered to my face.

I walked out with the students, sliding the door to the room closed and headed back up to the staff room to meet with Snipe.

"Did you hear about the teachers?!" a petite blonde didn't quite succeed in whispering to her friend. "There was a spout this morning!"

I swung around, "Excuse me, miss?"

Both ladies turned around, "Yes, Mister Yagi?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Mister Snipe got his jaw broken!" she sniggered, then eyes widened. "I don't mean it's funny he got hurt, of course! It was just kinda funny watching a teacher getting taken down so easily!"

Her friend deadpanned at her, so she continued. "I mean-!"

"Miss, calm down. It's okay! Did he go see Recovery?"

"Uh, I don't know, Brisha put containment around them until we all filed out."

"Damn class rep goodie goodies." Her friend finally chimed in.

"Okay, thank you ladies, head to class now!" I was already taking off towards Recovery Girls office.

I went to the administrative wing, passing by Nezu's off ice I heard a quick, "Do you WANT to lose your-" but I kept trotting towards the nurses office. When I got there the door was locked.

I knocked, "Chiyo! It's me!"

The door promptly opened, the short woman staring up at me. "When are you people going to let me retire?"

She turned around, walking back into the room where Snipe sat, rubbing his jaw. His features much cleaner cut than I expected for the dread wearing cowboy. "Whoa, Snipe!"

He looked up, waving with the other hand. "I'm good man, no worries, it wasn't fully broken."

"Oh, I figured she took good care of you…I've just…. never seen your face before!"

"Yeah…. You good though? What'd you need to talk to me about?"

"Well, I was going to ask-" how much of an idiot could I be? "Wait, did Aizawa do this?!"

He chuckled, nodding his head. "Oh yeah, in front of an entire class of students."

I groaned, running a hand through my hair. "Why?"

"We had a bit of a conversation last night, don't think it hit him until this morning." He laughed, much more than you'd expect from someone who'd been attacked. "I won't say I didn't deserve a swift kick to the jaw, but not in front of students."

"Of course not, that's never appropriate." I shook my head. "Is he going to lose his license?"

He laughed again. "No, I gave Nezu a heads up that he'd probably either not be in today or get here heated."

"What'd you say to him?"

"I shot him." He stood from the bed he'd been sitting on. "Right through that precious scarf of his."

I felt the color leave me. "You did?"

"Yep, hit it just enough to make the whole damn thing unravel if he used his quirk on it. Low blow, I know, but we're even now. I'll even pay for the damn thing if he ever talks to me again!" he chuckled again. "No worries, friend. What did you want to meet about?"

"Well, I was going to ask what happened with you guys last night. I ran into him after, but I guess that's a moot point now!"

"Yeah, I'm going to go nurse this headache. Thanks Recovery Girl!"

We both walked out and looked at the closed door of Nezu's office as we walked by. "I think I'm going to wait here, Snipe. I'll see you later."

"Alright, take it easy, All Might." He hit the button for the elevator, snapping his mask back into place. "You look good, by the way."

"Thanks, you too!" I couldn't help but laugh, then knocked on the door of the office.

A pink haired girl snatched the door open. "All Might! Hello, principal Nezu will be back shortly, have a good day!"

The door promptly slammed the door, an odd electrical sound coming from behind the door immediately after.

"What the… support department?"

I turned to head to the elevator, pulling my phone back out.

-I heard about what happened, you okay? What's going on.-

Who is with his class?

I decided to check it out, just in case, and hit the button for their floor. The hall was quiet as ever, so probably someone was keeping them under control. I opened the door and stepped through.

"Tosh- uh, Mister Yagi!" Yaeko was sitting on top of Aizawa's desk, the class looked up from note taking to look at me. "Good timing! Mind telling the kids about your experience with my Empathy?"

"Oh, hello, everyone!"

"Wow, All Might, get at it boy!" Mina immediately called out, causing fire to erupt across my face.

"Thank you, Miss Ahsido," I cleared my throat. "What would you like me to tell about it?"

"Just, start from when you knew I was there, I guess!" she smiled, and I felt a calm come over me.

"Thank you, but that's not necessary." I smiled back, turning to the class. "So, after my last fight with All for One, I was rendered unconscious for a few hours after the adrenaline wore off. They assumed I'd wake up soon, but when almost a day went by, they were worried that he'd done damage to my mind that they couldn't see. No matter the added sedatives and calming quirks the hospital staffed used I thrashed around like I was having nightmares. So, they called Jikkan here to come in. See, I had gone out of my way to never cross paths with this lovely lady, since she immediately would have known my secret. So, when they called, she came in. The first thing I remember was standing back in the rubble from the fight, this one here standing with me instead of All for One. I thought it was a trick, so I tried attacking her, but I moved through her, like I was fighting a ghost or something. She told me not to be scared, explained where my body actually was, that I had won already. She also told me they thought I'd never use my quirk again, crying the entire time she spoke. I'm not sure how long we sat there, in my own mind, but we were both crying, ridiculous messes for what seemed like forever. I was convinced she was a figment of my imagination, a coping mechanism or something. But then she asked if I was ready to wake up, once I told her I was, she touched my cheek and I sat up in the hospital bed."

I looked over at Yaeko, who smiled again. "She was the first person I was able to open up to fully. She made me feel comfortable with her so I could cut through the rubble of my own mind and work through my trauma. A scary power indeed, but when wielded by someone like Miss Jikkan here…she's truly a treasure amongst our heroing world, students!"

"So, like, you can force people to tell you stuff?" Bakugo was leaned back in his chair.

"No, sir!" she called out. "I can just make someone feel comfortable, safe, and trusting towards me. Usually that does the trick, but I only use that when dire situations call for it. Delving into people's feelings is scary business, so moderation and gentle little pushes are my preferred method."

"Bet it's so easy to get laid with a quirk like that,"

A cough ripped through my throat as a book connected with Mineta's head, sticking to his…hair?

"Nope, but it's super easy to make creeps feel as bad as they make their victims feel!"

Mineta suddenly fell out of his desk, vomiting on the floor next to him.

"Yaeko! We can't use quirks against students!"

She huffed, "How is that little creep part of your hero course?"

"He…He's just…. I don't know."

She huffed again, turning back to the class. "As you can see, your emotional wellbeing can have an incredible effect on your health. Which is why having self-understanding is SO important. I'm sure that's all your counselor was trying to say. Take it easy on the guy and find a way to practice good mental health habits. It will make it much easier down the road if you have a solid foundation now to build upon later!"

Most were nodding and note taking.

"Do you have them until Eraser shows up?"

Ding!

She shook her head, "I'm here for another period, then the real sub gets here. Classroom talk is fun though! I see why you guys like it!"

I laughed, turning towards the door, "It wears off!"

With a variety of 'HEY!'s behind me I walked out the door and headed towards my own class, pulling my phone from my pocket to check the text.

-Bad morning. Really bad morning-

-Sorry, anything I can do?-

-Dont laugh.-

-I won't, scouts honor!-

I almost ran right into a student, "Oh, I'm so sorry!"

-Yeah, you will. I'm not going to class today. Meet me after your classes are over?-

-Where are you? I'm on free period now.-

I made it back to my office, closing the door just as the phone began ringing, sending the damn butterflies back to their new home right in my gut and stupid smile back to my lips. "Hey!"

"Hey…"

"You don't sound great. Sure you're alright?" I plopped into the desk chair, swiveling it around.

"No, but it'll be fine." He paused. "You look good today."

I had to bite back the cough in my throat. "Wait…when did you see me today?"

"Just a minute ago, you damn near wiped out a kid you had your face so glued the phone. Like one of these teenagers,"

"Well I'd heard you'd attacked another teacher in front of a class!" I couldn't help laughing now. "You're lucky you aren't losing your job."

"Or license."

"Exactly! What were you thinking?"

"That he'd mutilated my only weapon, that I've had for almost twenty years, and he did it on purpose."

"Uh, I mean, yeah…" the chuckle still bubbled. "But, really, where are you at? I'm on free period right now. I could get you a coffee."

"No thanks, I'm already off campus. I have an appointment to get to."

"Are you staying at your place or dorms tonight?"

"I assumed I would either be at mine or yours," I heard the beep of a ticket machine for the train through the line. "Why don't we meet at the bar, then head to mine? I can probably get the place actually presentable for company by then."

"Sounds good, but you can't start drinking without me this time."

"Trust me, I won't." he paused for a moment. "I feel indecent walking around like this in public."

"What, no scarf?"

"Yeah," he huffed. "But, enough about that. You get back to work, see you at the bar at five thirty?"

"You got it! Looking forward to it!"

"See you then," the line went silent.

The stupid grin on my face back.

….

Unfortunately, the rest of the classes didn't go as quickly as the first two had. The time seemed to _drag_ on, clocks taunting me with their slowmo movements. After what felt like ten hours the final bell rang, sending students rocketing through the halls, final night preparing for their camps.

I threw my lesson book into my brief case and filed right on out with them, headed towards the front gate instead of the dorms. The bus ride was a lot busier than usual, so I opted to stand and use the handhold to keep myself balanced so a young mother could have my seat, her black-haired child grinning and slobbering all over the place. His big green eyes send a dagger through my heart, but the giant smile and way he played with his mothers hair soothed it, smile reaching my face once again.

The train ride into Tokyo seemed to be done in a flash, letting me off just a mere block away from the bar. I didn't need the navigation this time, the door pretty easy to find once you know it's there. I knocked.

"Liscense pl- Oh, All Might! Pleasure to see you again!" the door opened more, showing the same large bouncer as last time.

"Hello, thank you!" I ducked inside, extending my hand once the door closed again. "I didn't catch your name last time, so sorry."

"Org, name's Org, Mister All Might!" he grabbed my hand, shaking it hard.

"Org? Well, nice to meet you…Org!" I pulled my hand away, turning to go up the steps. "Don't work too hard today, got it?"

His deep chuckle behind me was surprisingly warm sounding. "I wont, Mister All Might!"

"Toshinori!" I smiled back as I got to the top, stepping through the next door and into the clean-cut bar, looking around for Aizawa.

I settled at the counter when I didn't see anyone in any of the booths.

"Hello, what can I get for you?" it was the same bubbly woman as last time. "Another Imperial?"

"Hey there! What an incredible memory, I bet you make a killing here!"

She chuckled, leaning against the bar, "To be fair, I tend to only remember regulars' drinks. But it's not often you get the number one hero seated in your section!"

"Former, miss. Former number one!" I smiled back. "I'm just a teacher now."

"You'll always be number one here." She pushed off from the counter, snatching up a glass and filling it with the dark, sweet liquid and sliding it down the counter to me "This one's on me! Let me know if you need another, alrighty?"

"Thank you, I will!" I grabbed it, the beer almost sloshing over the side, and pulled my phone out.

-Got here quicker than I thought. ETA?-

I immediately heard the Ding! of a text go off behind me and swiveled around, the stupid grin making itself known again.

My lung forgetting how to work when I turned to be face to face with him.

The wild mane of jet hair that always hid him from the world, was gone. Shaped now, falling just long enough to almost touch his eyes in the front but the sides and back had less than an inch of length, leaving his face and neck exposed. It was like…looking at him for the first time. His jaw somehow seemed more squared without the wavy blanket of locks covering it, and his five o'clock shadow only making it more noticeable. His dark eyes, I suddenly took notice, were framed by incredibly long black lashes. The scar under his eye looked bigger, no longer partially hidden. Not to mention… his neck! No scarf bunching around him, a barrier between him and the world, but a slight V-neck sweater showing off the defined clavicle and bare throat. Jesus.

"No laughing." His jaw clenched, averting his eyes from mine.

My mouth wouldn't work. I just watched him take a seat next to me, waving to the waitress.

He was wearing _jeans_ and a sweater. Not a jumpsuit or workout clothes… a dark jeans and a sweater. That showed an actual body shape!

His whiskey arrived and he knocked it back almost immediately. "Okay, you have to say something, or I'll end up with a complex."

"I-Uh…" I forced my stubborn lung to take in a breath. "You look…fantastic."

He huffed, finally meeting my eyes again, the way his long lashed looked when he blinked made my heart stop. "I feel naked."

"W-What happened?" my hand itched to run through his hair, so I grabbed my knee hard to keep it from moving.

"It's how they make my capture weapon. My hair woven into each strand is what makes it react to my quirk activation. I had shaved it all off right after high school and sent it to the support company, but they lost it over the years…so," he motioned to his head.

I took a drink, just looking at him as he ordered a regular beer this time.

"What?"

I shook my head, "It suits you. I can see your face."

His brow furrowed and I thought I saw the slightest touch of pink go to his cheeks before he ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head. "Well, thanks, I guess."

"Let's move back to the booth, more people will probably show up soon. Best give them the bar!"

"Sure," he grabbed the mug that had been placed in front him and stood.

I tried keeping my eyes to myself. This isn't a date. This isn't a date. It's just a friendly chat that'll probably end in getting to have sex with the most beautiful person in this bar.

"How was class?" he sat in the same spot he had been in last time, so I followed suit.

Wait…isn't that what a date is? "I'm sorry, what?"

"Class? How was it?"

"Oh, it was fine. We're kicking this back a bit with camp starting tomorrow. I'm surprised you didn't go back to say bye to the kids."

"Mei chopped my hair off in Nezu's office, I wasn't in any condition to be seen by anyone until it got fixed. I plan on seeing them off in the morning. With a hooded jacket to keep this to myself until they're back."

"I think they'll like it!"

"Oh yeah, and I'm sure Ashido will make a point to tell me," he shook his head, then tilted it up to take a drink. His throat shifting to swallow and sending the butterflies right back to their new home.

I gulped at my drink, swallowing about half the beverage in a single go. "Yeah, she's not as creepy as Mineta, but their minds are…. similar. Aren't they?"

He sighed, "Yeah, I have to practically bolt her door from the outside to keep her running off to Kirishima every night."

A laugh built in my throat, "Have fun with that."

His mouth turned up at the corners, pulling at my insides.

"Any idea who had them today?"

"Yaeko for a while, guess Bakugo is giving their other counselor a hard time so she spoke with them. She also made Mineta barf."

His mug had been on its way to his lips but paused, "What? How?"

"She whammied him with a multiplied feeling of her disgust at his behavior. He couldn't quite handle it." I couldn't help but laugh as he shook his head.

"Maybe she's not so bad," the slight upturn of his lips back as he resumed his drinking.

We sat in silence for a moment, watching as the bar began to fill with more people.

"So," the stupid smile filled my face again, laughter building again. "The great Aizawa skipped school to get a haircut."

His eyes narrowed at the comment.

"Come on, that's kind of funny."

A dark eyebrow raised just slightly. "Oh yeah?"

I nodded, drinking the rest of the stout and placing the cup on the table. "Yeah, do you want another?"

He glanced at the rapidly filling bar around us, shaking his head. "No, let me finish this and we'll go."

"Alright," I stood up, pulling my shirt down to make sure it was still in place. "I'll go pay at the bar."

"You don't-"

I waived his comment away as I walked to the bar, paying for the two drinks he'd had. "Have a good night, miss!"

"You too, All Might! Take it easy!"

I turned, putting my wallet back in my pocket and leaning back against the bar, watching Aizawa. He put the mug to his lips, looking at something on his phone. He looked like a foreign twin to the Aizawa I've always known. Seeing him without the curtain of hair or scarf sitting in the publics eye seemed, somehow, more scandalous than seeing him naked. My cheeks began to hurt, telling me that the giant smile was back to my lips. His eyes fell on me as he polished off the drink, brow furrowing just a little and mouth turning back up as he stood, motioning to the door.

I pushed off of the bar, walking around the other patrons, and letting Aizawa slip through the doorway before me.

"See ya, Org!" I gave a small wave as we ducked out of the door.

"Org?" Aizawa turned back to me as we took off down the sidewalk.

I shrugged. "Yeah, but who am I to talk?"

"Sounds like his parents were hoping for a brutish green monster for a son."

"Not an Orc!" I barked out laughter, just a bit of blood finding my mouth.

He chuckled lightly, taking the first corner. "It takes so long having to _walk_ everywhere."

"Yeah, you get used to it, eventually." I made a point to pay attention to the turns he took, since I hadn't been keeping a mental map the last time I made my way to his apartment.

"You aren't allergic to cats, are you?"

"No, in fact, I made decent friends with your little housemate last time I was over. She was napping next to me when I woke up."

"Which one?"

"I didn't realize there was more than one? The little black and white one."

He nodded, smiling, "That's Nickle, she's a lot more social than Minerva. Usually Minerva perches on top of the fridge, silently judging the world."

"Do they go back and forth between here and dorms with you?"

"No," he rounded another corner, revealing the building. "I have a nice elderly lady that lives next door, I do her grocery shopping for her every week, so she'll look after them when I'm away."

My heart skipped a beat. "Well, aren't you a regular softie!"

He gave me a look over his shoulder as he opened up the door, holding it so I'd go through.

The butterflies made themselves all the more known as we made our way up the stairs, I'm sure he felt my eyes on him once I noticed the way the jeans pulled when he'd go up a step.

"So, now that we're here," he put his key in the door, turning and pushing it open, immediately catching the black and white puff that flew out, and looked at me. "Time to continue that potentially awkward conversation."

He motioned for me to enter, so I did, hearing the door close behind us. "I didn't think we were coming back here to talk?"

An almost chuckle huffed out of his nose as he kicked his shoes off, leaving them in the entryway and walking past me to sit on the couch, Nickle settling into his lap. "We can't do this unless we lay out the groundwork first."

"You look like a completely different person like this." I didn't try to keep my eyes to myself now, taking in every inch of the foreign Aizawa in front of me.

-Aizawa-

His blue eyes seemed to track every movement, from my hands petting the purring cat, when I swallowed his eyes would linger on my throat, and lips as I spoke. A warm knot already forming at the pit of my stomach at knowing what comes next, nobody looks at someone else like that if they're about to say they don't want to have sex.

"I'm sorry?"

"No, no, not in a bad way…" his eyes kept moving over me while he just stood in the entryway. "It's just… I'm so glad this happened after we'd already slept together. I was having a hard enough time keeping it professional with you. This would've… wrecked that."

I felt heat rise to my face and shook my head to clear it. "Come sit."

He slid his shoes off and in two giant steps made it to the couch, plopping down to the other end, still just staring at me.

"I said that you should take a night to think about things, right?" he nodded, reaching a hand out for Nickle to sniff. "So, what did you come up with."

He was silent for a second, shifting on the couch. "I'll be honest, I've never been in this kind of relationship, so I didn't know what I was supposed to think about. I want a relationship with you, whatever that gets me is fine."

Oof. "Yeah, I don't think you thought about this hard enough."

He met my eyes. "Why do you say that?"

"Because, this would mean that behind closed doors we are physical with each other, and anywhere else we have to remain professional. Even going to the bar together, like today, could spark conversations that would affect our work lives. One picture from the media and it'd be nothing but wild speculations and assumptions that would eventually be revealed as truths."

"Meeting at the bar was your idea," he inched closer and ran a hand over Nickles head.

"Yeah, it was. I didn't think you'd look at me the way you did though, grinning like a schoolboy. I figured you'd laugh, if anything."

"It's not my fault you went and sexed yourself up!" his laugh barked through the air, sending a shiver down my cold neck.

"Trust me, I wouldn't have if there was an option. What do you even do with hair like this? It just plasters itself to my forehead."

His hand raised from Nickle and brushed along the side of my head, that was now bare to the world. Winding his fingers up into the top and gripping, hard. The noise that ripped from my throat surprised even me, All Might scooting the rest of the difference over, bothering Nickle to the floor. "I think I know what to do with it." The lower octave of his voice sending warm waves to stir me.

"We're- we're supposed to be talking, remember?"

"We will," his mouth moved to mine, one hand still latched in my hair, other scooting behind to pull me onto him.

I obliged. Who am I to tell him he isn't ready for this?

I plunged my tongue into his mouth, pulling a groan from it as I moved my hands to start pulling the buttons of his shirt free. I tried focusing on the buttons and exploring the coppery taste of his mouth, but his hands both moved up my shirt, pulling lightly on my skin, leaving what felt like searing marks across it. The tight jeans I wore already becoming uncomfortable as I finally just ripped away the last few buttons, revealing his scarred chest.

I pulled my mouth from his, a leg on either side of his hips meant I had to lean back to pull the shirt form over my head, throwing it behind me so I could lean back in to claim his mouth.

"Jesus," he barely got it out before I was back on him.

I slid my hands into his now open shirt, running my fingers over a perked nipple with one and lightly grazing his scarring with the other. I could feel him already hardening under me, I ground my hips into him making him feel the reaction in me as well. Rocking back, I hopped up from the couch, grabbing his arm to make him follow. "Come on."

He somehow seemed even more than a foot taller than me as I slid one finger into his waistband, pulling him along as I walked backwards to our destination. His eyes seemed dark, going from aqua to dark sapphires as he leaned down, grabbing my face and forcing it up into a kiss. I pulled my hands away from him, pulling the button of my own pants loose when my legs hit the side of the bed. His hands seemed to shake a little as re reached for his own, so I knocked them away, pulling the metal free, making the pants begin to slide from his narrow hips even without encouragement.

I backed up, sliding across the mattress so my pants came down with the motion as I pulled him back with me, spreading my legs as to make room for him.

"Fuck, Aiza-" I took his lip into my mouth, biting lightly and moving a hand down his back, pulling him up further to feel the full length of him, even if still confined within his underwear.

I wrapped my legs and flipped over, pressing him into the mattress. "Did we use any protec-" he shook his head. "Gods, I'm such an idiot when I drink."

Oh well, ship has sailed, so I slid down, grabbing the elastic of his underwear and pulling. A phantom ache made both a tense knot form in my stomach and flutters to ease it, no fucking wonder I couldn't walk.

"You drank tonight, too," he gulped, propping up onto his elbows.

I licked my lips as a chuckle escaped them, "Should I stop then?"

-Toshinori-

It was like an out of body experience, watching him lick his lips, square jaw opening to take me in. His tongue danced across the very tip of me, gathering the precum already sliding out and plunging me further into his mouth as he groaned.

The answer to his smart-ass question lost as my mind melted from the heat of his mouth wrapped around me, bobbing. Cheeks hollowed as he applied more suction.

"Ahfuck. Ai-Aizawa." I reached my hand down, grabbing a handful of his hair, silently thanking the unknown hairdresser for leaving enough on top to take hold of, and pulled. The groan vibrating over my shaft before I could pull out of his mouth. "Get up here."

He slid the rest of the way off of the bed, grabbing a small bottle from the bedside drawer before pouncing back onto the bed.

He climbed over me, a leg planted on either side of me, hovering above my stomach but leaning to place his mouth on my neck, sucking and biting a trail down to my shoulder, speaking between each, "You're sure about this?"

"I never thought I'd ever say it, but you're talking too much." My hands gripped his hips.

"I'll remember that." His hands slid across my skin, tracing my side and then planting them on my biceps, planting love bites down my neck. "Do you just top or…?"

"I'm a little out of practice, but…I can switch," his teeth nipped at my skin, "Ahh, if you want."

"No," his chest and torso flexed as he pushed up, releasing my arms. His skin pale and chiseled like something you'd see in a museum carved from marble. He reached behind his back, running his hand down from where his own ass sat over my belly button and ended the motion with his hand wrapped around the base of my cock.

I throbbed against the pressure of his hand as he popped open the bottle of lube with his other. Once it was open and he took more of his weight onto his knees beside me his onyx eyes met mine, "I'm taking this today," he squeezed his hand. "I haven't been able to get it out of my mind all week."

He flipped the bottle over into his hand, getting a small pool on his palm before snapping it shut. His other hand never leaving my cock, that throbbed just at watching him.

"Let me help," I propped up on one arm, dipping a finger into the lube he held in his hands and reaching around him.

His legs being spread made it as simple as massaging the thick liquid onto the tight muscle for a moment. I felt it clench and release, allowing me to plunge my slicked ring finger inside of him. He arched his back and angled his chin up, breathing deep.

"More," his voice still steady as he reached behind himself, dripping some of the lube onto the rest of my hand before I felt his slide down from the head of my cock to the base, where his other hand still sat.

Both hands behind him, sliding up and down me made his shoulders and chest rise and fall, rocking just slightly on my finger. I slid my middle finger to meet with him as he rocked back again, nothing but a slight huff of air through his nose signaling his approval. I focused on his face to distract from the nearly overwhelming feeling of his lubed hands working me over. Sweat beginning to bead on his forehead, making the inky hair stick to it, eyes closed, he looked…determined. I folded my pointer finger over onto the other two, turning the three into a bit thicker of a spearhead that he rocked right back onto with a sharp intake of breath.

"Too much?"

"No, it's…good…" his voice not so steady anymore, coming out breathy and fast. He rocked back, forcing himself down to my second knuckle. "Fuck… I'm ready."

He moved his hips forward, my fingers sliding out of him as he leaned down to kiss me, one hand pressing to my chest for balance and tongue plunging into my mouth while he lined himself. He brought his hand up and his hips back, pressing my head to rest against him.

"Just…sit still?"

My head swam, words not forming, so I just nodded. Still, be still Toshinori.

He grabbed the bottle of lube, adding a small amount to my shaft before snapping it closed and tossing it to the bed. The groan that left my throat sounded animalistic as he sank back, plunging at least half of me into him.

"_Fucking hell,_" a flush erupted from his cheeks, spreading down his neck and disappearing into the pale skin of his chest. Just the same as the last time he'd impaled himself on me.

I grabbed the bed, squeezing to keep the rest of me from moving.

Without taking so much as a full second to acclimate, he began rocking again, moving a hand to prop himself up next to my head on the mattress and the other sliding across my chest. His eyes were clenched shut as he rocked.

"Sho- Shouta, easy," he rocked back again, taking more of me this time, biting his lip. "Fuck, you don't- don't have to go so fas-Aaah!"

He sank down to my base, legs seeming to give out as he did, dropping his weight entirely onto his arms and my hips. "_Holy fucking…shit_."

My hands shot to his hips, fingers digging into the smooth skin. His head pointed to the ceiling as he began moving again, just barely.

"Ah- I…" his voice strained, head swinging back down to look at me. "Get on top."

"A-Are you sure? Last time you wouldn't let-" he pulled forward, bringing me almost completely out of him.

"Fuck," his eyes closed for just a second as he moved. "I don't know what I did last time, but I have places to be in the morning and this is a little…intense. So, get up." his left leg pulled up, rocking him forward enough to finally release the last of my length with a satisfying pop as he rolled to the side, giving me room to sit up.

He rolled back over, planting his knees back to almost the same spots they'd just been, without me between them, and wrapped an arm around a pillow to plant the side of his face into. Leaving me with quite a view, his ass in the air, back arched, head turned on the pillow so those dark eyes could watch me.

"This doesn't seem any less intense…" my hands found their way to his hips regardless of my words.

"More lube," he jerked his chin in the direction of the bottle, so I snatched it up, pouring some directly on his now red bud and some on myself before tossing it to the side.

I lined my hips up with him, the sight alone pulling a noise from me. "I don't think I'll be able to go for very long, seeing you like this."

"Then make it count," his hand pressed against the headboard as he rocked back, coaxing me to fuck the tightness right in front of me.

He was properly slick now, allowing the first inches in with little resistance before he clenched. I took a deep, shaky, breath. "You have to tell me if I'm hurting you."

His eyes hardened, meeting mine. "I can handle you."

That was it, the fluttering in my stomach spread to my chest as I plunged further into him, sheathing myself.

"_Aghhh, fuuuck,"_ his fingers clenched against the headboard, other hand moving between his legs as I went to work on him.

"You're so goddamn tight," the breath wouldn't stay with me, words coming out with each thrust.

"You're just," my pace quickening made him pause, "Fucking _huuge_!" the last word came out barely a whisper as I angled my hips, changing the angle. "There! Ri-Right there!"

I used one hand to force his hips back to meet me but leaned forward slightly to grab hold of his hair with the other, pulling all of him back. The words seemed to melt from him, the sound of my fucking him, skin slapping into skin taking over the room, mixing with the lewd groans coming from his open mouth.

"Shit, Shouta…. I'm going to- I'm-"

"Not yet," the voice didn't even sound like his as he slammed himself back onto me. "I need more."

"Fuck," I thrust forward to meet him, the pull in my gut telling me I didn't have much longer. "Shouta, really, I'm-"

He rocked back again, forcing me further into him, his shaky voice was barely heard. "I'm almost there."

His words pushed me over the edge, I wrapped my arm around his waist, folding myself over him, thrusting as hard as my planted knees let me. Like a rubber band snapping, I was suddenly over the edge, my cum spurting as I thrust making it that much easier to continue fucking him through my own orgasm.

"Shouta!" his back arched, groaning as I said his name and launching him into a release of his own.

"So…f-fucking _full_," he pressed back against me again, one hand keeping his upper half hovering above the pillow, other slowly coaxing rope after rope of white liquid from within himself. Hair beginning to float around his head, quirk activating as he came, just like last time.

I grabbed his shoulders, pulling his body up to mine as the hair fell flat again, and planted a foot on the bed as I did. Leaving me in a lunge type position, still sheathed inside of him. I grabbed his hand, leaving his semi-erect dick to bounce a little in the air, and ran my tongue over the sticky, salty liquid that'd shot onto his fingers. He clenched around me as I did this, a small groan as he leaned his shoulders back to rest against me.

"Unless you're ready to switch positions now, you should stop." His breath still shaky, chest rising and falling rapidly.

I kissed down his neck, reveling in the shiver that ran down him. "Could you do that?"

I rocked back, pulling myself from his heat, his teeth gritting and fingers clenching as I did.

His head shook, collapsing forward onto the pillows, "No, don't think I could."

I stood from the bed, blood rushing back into my calves and feet. "Shower?"

His eyes were closed already, but his head nodded.

"Getting mixed signals here."

"Just… need a minute."

I felt that stupid grin come back, "Okay, I'll go get it started."

I padded out into the hall, feeling weirdly embarrassed at the big reflective eyes watching me walk naked to the bathroom. I found the switch and opened the door to the shower, turning the knob to start warm water. Towels were kept in the small cabinet under the sink, I grabbed two, hanging them on the hooks right outside the shower door and went back into the hall.

"Nickle, go play," I couldn't help the laugh that filled me as her eyes followed me.

His eyes still closed, but breathing had steadied.

"Aizawa? Are you awake?"

His mouth twitched up at the corners, "Back to Aizawa, are we?"

If the smile on my face wasn't already there it would've appeared then. "Sorry, I suppose I should've asked to use your given name, huh?"

He was silent for a moment, mouth still twisted up into a small smile. "Think we're past that, yeah?"

"Are you sure?"

"Mhm,"

"Hey, don't fall asleep, showers on…" I paused, a thought occurring. "Is showing together a thing we can do? Or is that not a part of…. Whatever we are?"

He took a deep breath, "We can do whatever we please, in private. But… I don't want to move."

"Well come here," I pulled on his shoulder, helping flip him to his back and turn his body sideways on the bed. "Wrap your legs."

I leaned down, snaking an arm around his lower back and one between his shoulders, heaving him up onto me as I planted a kiss, cutting off whatever comment he was about to make. He humored me, deepening the kiss and wrapping is arms around my neck as I moved around the bed, almost tripping over a pair of discarded pants, and stubbing a toe on the bedframe.

"Oof, not familiar enough with the layout, sorry."

His laugh shook his body against mine as I finally found steady footing and brought us to the bathroom. "That's what you get for trying to carry a grown man like a child."

"I assure you; I'd never carry a child like this," I let my arm fall from his back, allowing him to unwrap his legs and stand, shakily, on the bathroom floor. "You good?"

"Yeah," his mouth turned at the corners again.

"What's so funny?"

"Just the injustice of it all. Of course the symbol of peace would have a fucking python between his legs."

I felt heat spread across my cheeks, so I turned to the shower, opening the door and holding out a hand to help him in, forcing the cough in my throat down. "You're ridiculous."

He took an uneasy step inside, sighing as the warm water hit his skin. "Can you do me a favor before you get in?"

"Anything."

"Could you go strip the top sheet off of the bed and toss it to the laundry room? It needs to come off, and I don't exactly need an audience for this next part."

The heat flared in my face again, a chuckle coming out with my words, "Yeah, you got it."

His eyes narrowed at my laugh, so I ducked out of the room before he could say anything. I took my time taking the dark grey sheet off, hoping to give him just a bit of privacy. I grabbed the bottle of lube and returned it to the drawer he'd gotten it from. I sat on the bed for a second, heart pounding. I just had sex, like actual in full control of ourselves, sex!

Blood tickled the back of my throat, forcing a small cough. I got up, wiping the blood and headed back to the bathroom.

I ducked my head around the corner, "You good?"

"Yeah, come on in,"

-Aizawa-

He had to duck into the shower to avoid hitting his head on the metal frame of the glass door. His insane height ever making him seem out of place next to anything made for the average Japanese person.

I dipped my head back into the water, the lack of added weight a reminder of the atrocity atop my head.

"So, Shouta?" a weird flutter in my stomach returning at hearing my name come from his mouth.

I rubbed the water from my eyes, side stepping to let him take my place under the stream. "Yeah?"

The water barely hit his shoulders, bringing a little huff from him before he continued, "I don't want to press, but I think you might be right about…talking more."

I planted my feet as well as possible, between wobbly legs and a slippery floor it wasn't an easy task, and leaned back against the cool wall, closing my eyes. "Okay, then talk."

"Well, I just… what are we calling this?"

"Calling what?"

"Our… relationship, or arrangement, or whatever?"

A smile returned to my lips, remembering what he'd said the other night. "I believe you called it… fuck buddies? Does that not work for you?"

His throat cleared, "Well, it's a little… crass."

"Crass? I just pushed a load out of my ass and can't completely straighten my legs, I think we're a touch past refinement." I opened my eyes just in time to see his widened eyes and red face.

"If someone told me two weeks ago you were capable of saying that sentence, I would've had them committed."

I shrugged, closing my eyes again, letting the warm air fill my lungs. "You're the one that kept probing me to talk."

He chuckled, a wet couch coming immediately after, "Yeah, I just… yeah. What exactly does this entail? You said we do as we please behind closed doors, but does that mean we don't interact at all out there?" his large hands motioning to generalize the outside world.

"Of course not. We just maintain a professional relationship at work, no first name basis stuff in front of the other staff, and certainly nothing in front of the student. We can even go out from time to time so long as we can keep ourselves in check, you draw too much attention to take risks in pubic."

He was quiet for a minute, so I opened my eyes again. He had dunked his head into the water, turning his hair to molten gold around his face, that water still ran down as he stared down at the floor.

"Is that… not what you had in mind?"

"It just seems… sneaky." He reached out, grabbing my wrist and pulling me over to him, his skin warm even compared to the water.

"I mean, probably because it is. It's sneaking around with each other." His hands found my hips, turning me so he could lean over, resting his head on my shoulder. "If you aren't okay with that then you need to tell me now. I'm not in the practice of sending people into emotional crisis."

He chuckled, moving his hands to my lower back, working his long fingers into the muscles.

"I just like being able to touch you. I'll take anything that comes with that."

"Ah, left?" his hands responded immediately, working to release the knots. "And, that's not how this works. You need to tell me what you want, what you're willing to compromise on, and we build from there. I meant what I said, nobody walks away happy from these things, not if we aren't both on board with whatever plan we have."

"Well," he thought for a moment. "I want to be able to tell people I'm seeing you. Keeping this a complete secret would start to bother me, I think."

"Yaeko will already know, can't you talk to her about it?"

His hands paused, "I mean like… our friends, maybe?"

"Like whom?" I turned my head, hoping to meet his eyes, but they were closed.

"Maybe I could talk to Dave about it? He isn't even in the same country as we are, surely that wouldn't bring any unwanted attention to us?"

"Your American friend? I can't see why not."

His eyes snapped open, "Really?"

"I'm not trying to keep this a secret for any reason other than maintaining our positions at UA. Why would I keep you from telling your friend?"

"I-I don't know." He stood, snapping the water off. "You just seem like a private person so… I didn't want to make you uncomfortable."

I opened up the glass door, tossing him his towel and using mine to rub through what little hair remained on my head. "I just don't want the media hounding me every time I leave the house, or for my coworkers and students to see me as the guy sleeping with All Might instead of as Eraserhead, teacher of class A."

He quietly dried off for a moment, face slightly flushing before he began speaking again "I guess that makes sense. I thought maybe you weren't, like, out, or something."

"I mean, short of holding a press conference for the public, who do I have to come out to?" I couldn't bite the words out before they came, so I turned my head and stepped out from the shower before I could see his face react.

"Do… you not have family here?"

Fucking hell.

"Uh, no. Just me and the cats."

"What about Nemuri and Hizashi?"

I continued drying off, keeping my back to the shower, but nodding, "They know, but aside from that, I never had reason to do the whole 'official' coming out thing. I'm just attracted to who I'm attracted to, and that's that."

"Family a sensitive topic?" his voice lowered, apparently noticing the involuntary change in my tone.

"You could say that." I wrapped the towel around my waist and stepped off of the mat, letting him step out while I opened the mirror cabinet.

"I won't ask about it then," his long arm reached across, pushing some of the unruly wisps of hair from my forehead before continuing to dry off. "Will we eventually tell Mic and Midnight?"

I tilted my head, pouring eyedrops into each eye, blinking. "Probably, Mic will probably be able to tell pretty quickly that something is up. He might act like a dumbass, but he's pretty perceptive. He can usually tell when I have something going on."

"Weren't you worried about Midnight saying something, though?"

"Oh, yeah. Once one of them finds out, the other will know too. I'll just have to make a point to talk to her before she gets a chance to gab her gums about anything to anyone. That may not be for a while though, so don't worry about it."

"Okay," he hung the towel, walking past me and out into the hall, raising his voice so I could still hear him. "But, speaking of Mic, what do you think about the project they're making us do?"

"I haven't really given much thought to it, why? You worried?" I wiped the steam from the mirror, looking at the inky mess a top my head, sighing.

"Yes!" his voice was almost a squeak.

I couldn't help but laugh at the noise and stepped out from the bathroom just in time to see his lanky frame hopping to pull his pants back on.

"What's there to worry about?"

"I am decent at a lot of things, fighting crime, cooking, teaching, impersonation a skeleton better than any living human being," he waved a hand over his body, "But something I've never claimed to have any talent in is music. I like listening to it, but I am entirely tone deaf."

I leaned against the door frame, watching him talk as much with his hands as he did with his mouth. "First off, don't talk about yourself like that, not in my house. You may have looked a little skeletal just after you fought All for One, but I happen to like how you look now. So, go ahead and cut that shit out. Secondly, if anyone can figure a way to make musical talent show itself, its Mic. There's a reason he has his own company, if you voice your concerns, he will hear them and work around them."

He paused his search for whatever he was looking for and looked at me. "You think he can work around my regular speaking voice being the only thing I've got?"

I nodded, "Yeah, he'll get you covered."

I turned around, ignoring the dull throb from my ass as I walked down the hall.

"You seem pretty comfortable with all of this," I heard his steps behind me as I entered the living room, picking up his shirt and tossing it to him.

"No reason to panic, we all have to do it. Might as well be calm and just do the damn thing."

He shoved his arm through the sleeves and began working on the buttons. "I- I guess you're right. I'm just… nervous about it."

"Do you have anxiety, All Might?" I couldn't help the curl my lips took.

"Please stop calling me that," he smiled back though, hands falling to his sides once he reached the spot where the last two buttons should have been. "You tore my shirt."

I shrugged, deciding to not press the clearly ignored question, and headed for the fridge, pulling out the pitcher of water. "I tried just talking to you. Water?"

He chuckled. "Any tea?"

"No, I've got coffee though," I poured the water into my cup, an idea dancing through my mind.

"Just water then, please."

I grabbed a second cup, filling it up, and put the pitcher back.

"So, you can cook, you're a legend amongst legends in the hero world, can give a decent massage, good in bed, and you're not nearly as obnoxious as I would've once believed. You have bodies buried in your basement or something?" I handed him his cup and sat on the couch, kicking my feet up.

His face turned red again, a laugh turning into a short cough, "Nope, just a disturbing amount of fan mail and gifts that I horde down there."

"You keep your fan mail?" I took a drink.

"Yeah, I keep probably fifteen or twenty a year, and most gifts I either keep or donate, depending on what it is." He shrugged, wiping a bit of blood from his mouth.

"I'm surprised you don't need a second house to store it all!"

"It's getting there!" he laughed again, taking a drink.

I took him in, hair still damp but already fully dressed again. "You not staying?"

He shook his head, "You have somewhere to be in the morning and I have an early meeting with Chiyo before my morning classes, so I think I'm headed to the dorms. What else do you have going on tomorrow though?"

"I have one class, at one, then I'm free. What's Recovery need with you?"

His face scrunched up a bit, turning the cup around in his hands. "Every week of so she likes to see me to keep track of my condition. Usually takes the ache in my bones away for a while too." I nodded, watching his eyes travel from my kicked-up feet to the edge of the towel, then suddenly jump back up to my face. "Those last couple fights took their toll on my body."

I didn't press, instead I just set my cup on the end table, propping an elbow on the back of the couch. "Are you good?"

He nodded, eyes wandering over me again. "For someone that feels naked without a scarf you're sure comfortable…being actually naked."

"Am I making you uncomfortable?" I ran the propped-up hand through my hair.

"No!" his face began to brighten again, looking away. "It's just a little hard to think straight."

I raised an eyebrow, smile finding my lips again, "You wanna go again?"

I tried not to laugh at the sudden widening of his eyes and coughing fit, but I didn't succeed.


	4. Smoke and Blood

-Aizawa-

I pulled the hood up over my head, pulling the drawstrings to make sure none of them would notice the change in looks. The dorm commons were still dark, and completely silent as I made my way to the elevator. My phone verified, twenty-five minutes before bus take off.

I went to the monitor room, just outside the door to my own dorm, and flipped the speaker switch.

"Good morning class. Time to get up and at 'em." I paused for a second, hoping they'd be awake enough to hear what I was saying. "Less than thirty minutes to be at front gate. I want you all in the commons in five minutes, bags in hand. Don't forget your costumes, you'll be doing actual combat training while you're there."

I let go of the switch, letting it click off and hit the master switch for the lights, illuminating all of the halls and common areas. I made my way back down to the ground floor and entered the kitchen, washing my hands just as Iida exited the elevator.

"Good morning, Aizawa, sir!" he sat his bags next to the couches and came to join me in the kitchen.

"Figures you were up already. You want to start the eggs?" I snapped the rice cooker on.

"Yessir, how many?"

"Just do the entire carton, scrambled is quickest so go with that. Here's this," I slid the small bowl of spices to mix into them. "Milk is already on the counter. You want bacon?"

"I think that's a good choice," he snatched the bowl and went to work.

I turned on the electric griddle, positioning as much bacon onto it as physically possible and went to the pantry, grabbing the box of granola and placing it on the table, with another gallon of milk as a few more sleepy kids made their way out of the elevator.

"Apple or orange?"

Various answers rang out, so I grabbed both, tossing the cartons to Tsuyu who caught them and put them on the long table. I flipped the bacon, looking over to see how the eggs were coming.

"Get the small bowls, plates, cups, and silverware on the table," they all jumped into motion, the last wave of students shuffling out of the elevator and tossing bags onto the couches.

"Good morning! Eggs, bacon, rice, fruit, yogurt and granola. Either help or sit your asses down at the table! Your donuts are here on the counter, Sato!" I grabbed the yogurt, walking to the table to start spooning portions into bowls, Tsu sending them down the table. "You take this over; I need to get the bacon."

Bakugo stood over the griddle, bacon in mouth. "Get to the table, wait for the rest of it. Take this with you," I handed him the container of rice to start portioning out.

He groaned, not quite capable of speech yet, but shuffled off so I could get the finished pieces onto a serving plate and added more to the griddle. "Everyone has their costumes, yeah?"

Yeahs and Yeses sang from the dining room, Kaminari bolting for the elevator, apparently having forgot his. I sat the first tray of bacon down just as Iida began dishing out the eggs. I spun around, starting the second batch of eggs.

"Who knows if they'll feed you lunch or launch right into training, eat your fill, but eat fast. You've only got…eighteen minutes to be there, waiting for the bus."

Their usual rowdiness silenced by the food being shoveled into their mouths. Aside from Bakugo, whose eyes followed me.

"Heard you beat the shit outta Snipe," he spoke around a mouthful of food. "What's that about? That why you left us with that freak show yesterday?"

"Watch your fucking mouth and eat."

"What's with the hood, Aizawa? Misplace the sleeping bag?" Kirishima at least swallowed his food before talking.

"Did I not just say to eat fast? Less talking, more chewing." I flipped the bacon and stirred the eggs, I took a deep breath, smelling coffee. Iida, you handy son of a gun. "Thanks, Iida."

I poured the hot liquid into a mug, stirring in creamer and letting it sit as I finished up the bacon and eggs, setting the refilled trays back down in front of all of them. "Fifteen minutes, finish up, get your dishes in the sink, I'll handle them today, use the bathroom if needed and let's go!"

I still felt Bakugos eyes tracking me as I moved around the room, but he stayed quiet, thankfully less lively in the morning. A few of the boys finished quickly, tossing dishes into the sink and disappearing either to the bathroom or rifle through the pile of bags to find theirs.

I leaned against the counter, sipping the hot coffee while everyone ran around, volume steadily increasing as food brought them all back to the land of the living. I felt the heat settle in my stomach and sighed into the cup. My muscles ached, but not badly enough to qualify as pain, like the last time I'd shared my bed.

"How do you plan on spending your time without all us around to keep you busy?" Kaminari shouted out above the rest.

"In peace," I took another deep drink. "Tokoyami, you have your night light? There's no telling if youll be in regular tents or dorms, you need to be prepared to keep Dark Shadow in check."

The kids remaining at the table erupted into laughter.

"My emergency light source is in my bag." His gritted teeth not showing appreciation for the slip.

"My bad," I tried to bite back the chuckle, only minorly succeeding.

"Aizawa, are you laughing? Did Snipe hit you in the head?" Jiro side eyed me from her seat.

"Maybe," I took the last drink, setting the mug to the side.

"SO IT DID HAPPEN!?" Toru screeched out, making half the room jump.

"Come on, get the table cleared. TWO MINUTES TO BE OUT THE DOOR!" I raised my voice so those in the bathroom could hear me.

I tugged on the drawstrings of the hood, making sure it covered me as I walked to lean against the door. There was motion all through the commons, Iida reprimanding the others for piling the bags into a mountain, Bakugo finally coming to life and making threats, Uraraka and Tsu working on clearing the dishes and getting them to the sink and counter. The rest grabbing bags, rushing to or from the bathrooms, and helping haul each other around to get everything.

"Alright, lets go!" I pushed the door open, letting the cool morning air hit my face as I motioned them all to file out. Head count confirmed nineteen. "We're headed to the front gates, get into single file for boarding."

They shuffled along, still not moving the way they should. "Look alive, folks! This is a training camp, wake up and get moving. This isn't a vacation for anyone but me, kick it to high gear!"

I started jogging, pulling once more at the draw strings to my sweatshirt. I heard them fall into step behind me, some audibly struggling to keep pace with their luggage in hand. The trek to the front gate didn't take long, class B was shuffling around the first bus already, the second years appearing in the courtyard just as we got to the gate.

"Hey, Class A! Running behind this morning?!" Monoma immediately started in.

"Bakugo, don't!" I snapped before a response could be formed in his still groggy brain. "Everybody get your luggage put up, then get on the bus. Keep in mind, I will be in contact with the staff of Shiketsu, so no bull. Behave, work hard, go Plus Ultra, or what's even the point. Come back stronger, show them what UA is made of."

They whooped their responses as I turned.

"Not waiting for takeoff?" Vlad had his arms crossed over his chest.

"No, if they can't get themselves on a bus then they don't need to be here."

"Why'd you walk them then?" a smile played at his lips before he looked ahead, barking at Monoma for his idiocy.

"Enjoy your break, Vlad!" I took off back towards the dorms. The sun was almost up, painting the sky a dull, ugly pink.

The dorms were still lit up, but silent as I entered through the doors, the smell of breakfast still filling the air. Once I rinsed all of the dishes and started the first load in the dishwasher, I poured another cup of coffee and laid back on the small couch, pulling my book out to wait on the cycle to finish. I heard the first bell sound for the first years just as the finishing cycle tone sounded.

Once everything was dried and the last batch of dishes were on wash, I went back up to my room, flipping the master switches before I ducked inside. I tossed my book to the desk and plopped onto the bed, clicking the alarm on my phone to wake me twenty minutes before I had to be in class. Then let my eyes close.

….

Of course, the alarm sounded what felt like seconds after my eyes closed. I stretched my limbs out, bones popping as I rolled to the side, planting my feet. I started to move to the closet to get into my uniform, but thought better of it, just tossing my goggles around my neck and heading out the door. The sun was bright now, glaring down onto my black clothing, but the usual stifling heat that came with it didn't, instead I felt the wind zipping around my face and neck, keeping me cool.

I entered the main building, making it up to the staff room and pouring a cup of coffee before the end bell rang for this period, forcing me to go find my designated classroom for the day. Students milled about, but when I entered the class 1B room everyone was already seated, bell ringing just as the door slid shut behind me.

"Good morning, class," I shuffled to the desk, setting the coffee cup down.

"Uh, it's already past two, sir," the young lady near the back of the class stood to address me.

"Class rep, I assume?"

"Yes sir!"

"Ah, well, I'm the pro hero, Eraserhead, and I'm here to babysit you for this period."

"Aren't you the one that attacked Mister Snipe yesterday?" came at the same time as one kid asked the person to his left, "Doesn't Eraserhead have like hair…and that thing around his neck?"

"Whoa, whoa! We seem to have gotten off with the wrong impression here!" I raised my voice slightly to be heard over the murmurs that had broken out. "I said, I am Eraserhead. I am your teacher for this hour and have no intentions of shouting the entire time. So, shut up."

They did.

"Thank you. Now, Thirteen tells me you guys have been going over-" a hand raised at the back of the room, I sighed. "What is it, rep?"

"Well, I was wondering if you would maybe take a few questions? We learned about the League of Villains last course and I know you were at the USJ,"

"What's your question?" I leaned back into the desk, stuffing my hands in my pockets.

"What was it like facing off against a Nomu on your own?"

"It was like getting my face smashed against concrete repeatedly. Not the best time. Anything else?"

"Is that how you got that scar?" another kid chimed in this time.

"Yes, they had to reconstruct my eye socket. That it?"

"Is that the worst injury you've ever sustained while on duty?"

"Well, the other injury I received that day caused more lasting damage. Tomura Shigaraki disintegrated part of my elbow," I slid one arm out of the hoodie, showing the warped skin left behind. "They had to do a couple operations to get it to heal correctly. Since it's a more active part of my body, it affects me more."

"Doesn't your quirk rely on your eyes though?"

"My _eyeballs_, not the socket."

The kids face turned red, his classmates sniggering as they continued their line of questioning.

"So, where you there when Deku was taken over by All for One?" suddenly the sniggering stopped, silence coming over all of them.

I cleared my throat, picking up the coffee cup. "No, I was not. I was notified when he arrived at the hospital, and I am the one that cleared him to come back to classes, but I wasn't there when it happened."

"Do you think he'll come back?"

I took a drink from the cup, liquid already approaching room temperature, and ignored the tightening in my throat at the question. "For all our sakes, let's hope not… Now! That's enough of that, I believe we have some actual work to do. How far into the Biology of Quirks unit have you gotten through?"

…..

Thirteen waltzed through the doors just as the beginning bell for the last period rang.

"Thank, Eraser! I, wow, I like the hair!"

"Thanks," it came out more of a huff than I intended. "They made it though the second lesson, now they're doing the summary questions. Need anything else?"

They passed by my, laying white file folders on the desk. "Nope, I think I've got it, thanks!"

I put up a hand as a wave, sliding out of the door and into the hall. The occasional student roamed the hall on my way back up to the staff floor. I pulled my phone out, texting Hizashi as I meandered my way up.

The door to All Mights office wasn't locked, I pushed it open. Sitting on the couch and kicking my feet up onto the coffee table. I spent the next thirty minutes responding to emails and messaging Hizashi.

"Hey there, Aizawa!" the shrill voice rang out from beyond the closed door.

Shit.

"I didn't catch you at lunch," the knob turned, door opening to show Yaeko standing there.

"I didn't have class today; it slipped my mind."

She huffed, stepping inside. "Yeah, sure." She curled her legs into the seat of the cushioned chair across from me, smiling broadly.

"What?"

"You're in a much better mood today than I expected you to be."

"Why did you expect me to be in a bad mood?"

Her eyebrow shot up, smiling still, "You're always in a bad mood. On top of the new hairdo, I figured you'd be particularly…broody. But here you are, sunshine and rainbows!"

"Excuse me?"

"Come on Eraser! It's okay to be happy!" she leaned back in the chair, still smiling like an idiot. "Want to talk about why that is?"

"Why are you even here?"

"Ouch, I just had a meeting with Nezu and was going to wait here to talk to Toshinori again. Why are _you_ here, huh?"

"You've already spoken with him today?" I put my phone down, focusing more directly on her.

"Yep, sure have, he doesn't dodge me like you do!"

"And, what's the verdict? Did you assume his mood would be broody too?"

She laughed. "No, he tends to wear his heart on his sleeve anyway. One look from you and I can feel his happiness from a block away."

I tried to ignore the warm twist in my gut at her words.

"Why are you so scared of being happy?"

"I'm not."

"You just tried to squash it down, why?"

"Why won't you just stay out of my head?"

"Because you won't talk to me. According to Toshinori you become quite the lively one once you warm up though, so hopefully we can get there eventually," she shrugged.

"All Might should keep some things to himself."

"Oh, he tried, but he feels his emotions towards you pretty strongly. With things like that I sometimes just… pick up on things."

"How exactly does that work?" I forced my eyes to relax instead of narrowing at her.

"Well, my quirk tries to tell me why someone is feeling the way they are. The clearer they feel about something the clearer the reasoning I get is, sometimes it's just a gut feeling, other times it kinda plays like a movie in my head."

I felt the breath catch in my chest.

"Oh! NO! Not anything like that! I can turn it off pretty quickly most of the time, I didn't see anything… like… intimate!"

"This feels a touch like harassment suddenly." I felt my phone vibrate once, and pulled it back out as she continued.

"It isn't like that, I promise. Once things settle down and the feeling isn't so raw, I'll be able to talk to him about it in more depth without getting any kind of vision or whatever. My question is, why don't I get any kind of intensity like that from you? You're happy, but it still feels… muddled."

It was from Hizashi.

-It's a date, dude! I've been kicking an idea around but that sounds AWESOME! See you then-

"Muddled?"

"Yeah, is it Midoria?" she cocked her head to the side, staring at me.

I sighed. "This isn't what I came here for."

"So, it is Midoria? And what did you come here for?"

I didn't say anything, trying to just focus on her words, instead of trying to anticipate what she'd feel once she started to pry.

"Ah, sneaking in a little workplace romance even after telling him it's off limits?" she shook her head. "That's not very nice of you, Aizawa."

"I'm here about a work-related project, thank you," I couldn't stop my eyes narrowing this time, already goaded into a response.

"Oh-Oh," her face went blank for a moment.

"Get the fuck out of my head!"

Her eyes met back to mine just as the final bell rang. "Holy shit, Shouta."

"Don't call me that, we aren't friends," I stood up from the couch.

She blinked hard, face suddenly looking a little older with her seriousness. "Yeah, you're right, I'm sorry. Too much time around Toshinori, I guess. Listen, I'm not here to cause you trouble, Aizawa. I'm here to help you navigate your feelings. If that means I need to keep a secret or two, then okay. Even from Toshinori. What you want to stay private will, please trust that."

"What reason do I have to? You've been talking about what he has been feeling since you walked in, and you answer to Nezu. Doesn't seem very private to me."

"I've told you about the feelings he has already shown you." Her tone sharpened a little. "Don't be so naïve to think you're the only thing on his mind."

"Never claimed I was, but have you even asked if he's okay with you talking to me about any of his feelings?"

"YES! I have, actually!" her voice raised higher, also standing from her chair. "Not everyone gives as much of a shit about remaining an enigma as you do!"

"I don't care to be a fucking enigma; I just like my thoughts to be my own!"

"I don't even read thoughts you thick fuc-"

The door flew open, All Might standing there in his usual yellow suit. "I could hear you two down the hall! Maybe lower your voices before the entire building hears you?"

She huffed, turning away from me. "He's got a temper problem!"

I sat back down, clenching my hands together.

"Yaeko, stop. Turn your quirk off. You're channeling him."

"I need away from him for a minute. We're doing a session together in a couple days, you try talking to him in the meantime." She huffed and puffed her way out the door, slamming it behind her.

* * *

-Toshinori-

He sat on the couch with legs partially spread, elbows propped on knees, hands rubbing over his tired looking face. "Sorry, I didn't mean to… upset her… or whatever."

"She's only upset because you are." I threw the lock on the door and sat next to him. "What happened?"

He leaned into me, sighing. "I don't like not having the option to keep my private life private. Nezu's meddling is wearing on me."

"Nezu is just trying to help," I ran my fingers through his hair, leaning back into the cushions.

A huff of air out of his nose was his only response.

"And Yaeko really doesn't want to expose anything to the press or anything, she just cares."

"Why?!" his hands went up in the air with the word.

"That's the side effect of her quirk, Shouta. She cares, about pretty much everyone."

He was silent for a second, pressing his head into my hand, "Sounds exhausting."

"From what I understand, it is."

His eyes closed as he laid his head back. "How did your checkup go?"

"We'll act like that was a natural transition," I laughed a little, jostling his head. "It went fine, I'm no better but also no worse. Which is about all I can ask for at this point."

"So, the coughing blood…that won't ever go away?"

"Nope. It eases for a little while after I see Chiyo, but its fleeting." I looked down at him, completely lounged back, and draped my arm across his chest. "How did your day go?"

He shrugged his shoulders lazily, yawning as he did. "Woke the kids, sent them off, did dishes from their breakfasts, took a nap, taught some Biology for Thirteen, then came here to wait for you when she just meandered in."

"What a dad!" I laughed, thinking of him doing such domestic tasks for the kids. "Why were you waiting here, though?"

"Ah, yeah," he sat up, turning to face me. "Do you have plans tonight?"

"Nope, just planned on grading a bit before pawing at you for attention." I felt the smile stretch back across my lips. "But I can put that off, what'd you have in mind?"

"I know you were feeling a certain kind of way about going to the studio, so how would you feel about going together?"

"Oh…?" I felt my brow furrow involuntarily. "Like… tonight?"

"Yeah, thought maybe we'd go back to one of our houses first, have some alone time to relax, then head over?"

"I don't know that I'm ready, I haven't even looked up the genres Mic put on my list!"

"You don't do anything, we can just go check it out, get a feel for it before you have to start diving into it. Sound alright?"

Those dark eyes impossible not to bend to, "I guess that doesn't sound too bad… But do you think it's a good idea to hang out around Mic already?"

"I've got a plan, don't worry about that. Where do you want to meet?" He pulled his phone out, quickly tapping on the screen with one thumb, typing something.

"Let's just go to yours," I sighed, leaning back into the couch. "That okay?"

"Yeah, of course," the dark spots under his eyes didn't seem so prominent with the sun shining in behind him, casting shadows over his face. He tucked the phone back in his pocket and looked back up at me.

"How are you so… effortlessly perfect?"

His eyebrow shot up, mouth turning up at the corners, "I don't know what you're talking about," he stood up. "I'll head out of here first, grab a coffee, and then head to the bus. If you get there before me just grab the key from under the mat. I won't be more than a few minutes behind."

I couldn't help but laugh, "You really do keep a key under your mat? It's like asking to get robbed!"

He shrugged, heading for the door, "It's been fine for this long. See you there?"

"You know it!" I smiled as he ducked out into the hallway.

…..

There it was, right where I'd left it last time, under the plain little welcome mat.

I unlocked the door and slid the key back under, barely catching the black and white missile that tried shooting into the hall as soon as I opened the door.

"Hello there, miss Nickle." I tucked her onto my arm once I shrugged my suit jacket off and hung it on the hook, giving her head little rubs as I slipped my shoes off. "You're a bit of an escape artist, huh?"

I laid back on the couch, letting her settle on my chest. Almost immediately she started purring, kneading her claws into my shirt as she positioned herself for better pets.

"A needy one, too, hm?" I laid my head back, closing my eyes.

I'm not sure how long we sat there, but it was long enough that a tingle found its way to my uplifted legs, unhappy with the lack of proper blood flow. I almost didn't feel the weight of additional paws, back legs still on the side table, front paws on my shin. The new additions yellow/brown eyes wide and staring.

"Minerva, I presume?" I lifted one hand from Nickle, rubbing my fingers together to coax the grey tabby over to join us.

Her eyes followed my hand but didn't move, just sat, watching.

"You don't want lovin's, little one?"

Again, nothing, perched like a statue now that she'd been noticed, like my eyes on her froze her in place. So, I leaned my head back again, continuing to pet Nickle with one hand, other extended towards the other cat. It wasn't long before I felt her padding up my leg, and a cold nose pressed lightly to my fingers, sniffing.

The door swung open, freezing her in place once again.

"Sorry, I'm not used to having to walk everywhere, got the timing off again. Been here l-" once his boots were off he looked up at us, mouth snapping shut as his eyes moved over us.

"Hey." He blinked once I spoke and focused on my face finally.

"She just came up to you?"

I nodded, not wanting to disturb the cats by talking any more than I needed to.

He shook his head, just barely, and moved his eyes back over me. "I never thought I'd find myself attracted to you in those yellow ass pants…but here we are."

I felt heat rising to my face. "Nothing's wrong with my pants, thank you."

He crouched a little as he walked over, extending his hand to Minerva. She sniffed his hand, rubbed her face against it briefly, and leapt from my waist to the floor, having had enough interaction for now.

"I can't believe she came up to you already," his eyes followed her as she padded from the room.

"How long does it usually take her to warm up?"

"She doesn't," he chuckled, balancing on the couple inches of cushion my torso wasn't taking up. "Have you been waiting long?"

"A few minutes, but I was in good company," I scratched Nickle's head for good measure. "No worries."

I felt his eyes on my face while I continued giving the black and white feline the attention she demanded. He eventually slid to the floor, draping an arm over my legs so he could pet her too.

"What's wrong with my suit?"

That small smile flashed across his face, causing the field of butterflies sprouting in my gut again. "It doesn't even fit you, and the whole thing being bright yellow is a bit much."

"It's the same color as your sleeping bag! If anything, it should remind you of comfort!"

"Leave my bag out of this," his eyes met mine, still smiling, "And it just reminds me of a big ass banana."

"Gee, thanks," I pushed the hair hanging down his forehead to the side. "Maybe my wardrobe needs a little updating. But there's so much better things to do with my time."

"Then hire someone, don't publicists usually do that kind of thing anyway?"

"I haven't had a publicist since I went to America." I chuckled, remembering the odd woman that had overseen almost every part of my life there. "I never had much of an issue maintaining my image, so it seemed like a waste of money."

"That's fair," he shook his head, moving the hair right back. "Just ask Nemuri to help you, she'll try to convince you that leather pants are a must, but aside from that, she loves to dress people almost as much as she loves _un_dressing them."

"That sounds…embarrassing."

He laughed, leaning in to plant a quick kiss on my lips. "You want to eat before we go? I think I have some frozen dinners or something here."

"Maybe we could just grab something on the way?"

"What, have something against frozen dinners?" if not for his slight smile I'd think his tone was serious. "I'll order some take out, have it delivered to the studio. What would you like?"

"Maybe just some Matsuya?"

"Sure, I'll get it ordered now, what do you want." He pulled his phone out, wildly tapping with his thumbs.

I sat up, sending Nickle jumping to the floor, and stretched my limbs. "Any kind of curry."

"You're a curry kind of guy, hm?" he tapped on the screen a few more times. "Okay, lets head out, delivery will probably only take half an hour, and it takes about twenty minutes to get there." He slipped his phone back to his pocket. "Are you ready?"

"Uh, yeah, unless I need to…bring anything?"

"Nope, just yourself," he reached a hand out, helping haul me off the couch. "The studio is only like ten minutes from your house, mind if I crash there tonight?"

"Uh, sure!" I bit back the cough in my throat.

"Cool," he turned to the kitchen. "Let me feed the girls, then I'm good to go."

"Alright," I started slipping my shoes back on, opting to just carry my jacket.

I heard both cats bolt to the kitchen at the sound of food hitting their bowls. "Settle down, Nickle."

He patted both of their heads before coming to the entryway and sliding into his boots, grabbing another jacket to slide into.

"How can you stand the heat of all that?"

He shrugged, pulling the hood up. "I'm used to the scarf keeping me warm, and with my hair gone, I feel like I'm naked if I don't layer."

"You're crazy!" I laughed, pulling open the door.

…

The walk to the studio went well enough, a nice group of students stopped us on one of the main streets, asking for my autograph. Aizawa managed to melt into the background as to avoid their attention, waiting for me to sign their notebooks and wave a goodbye.

"See the kind of attention wearing a yellow suit brings?" The shadows over the upper half of his face making his smile seem brighter.

"Yeah, I'm sure it's not the fact that I tower over everyone, have a recognizably sunken face, and appear on TV with relative frequency. Must be the pants."

"Exactly," A laugh barked from him as we moved on. "It's the pants. Let's go, this rate, the food will get there before us."

"Should we get Mic something?"

"I've got it handled, ordered his with ours."

"Oh? You know what he wants?"

"He's been my best friend for decades, I know what he orders," he turned another corner, taking us off of the main road.

"That's fair."

Almost immediately after turning the corner there was a dark brick building, a yellow neon sign sporting reading 'Hands Up Recording.' There was a small black box on the wall, a keypad of some sort, but Shouta walked right past it, inserting a key and opening the door, holding it so I could step through.

"We're headed upstairs, to the right."

The ceiling was a bright red, walls white and lined with various instruments, records, and pictures of people taken from within the studio framed and displayed. The floors made from various shades of hardwood, lights shining off of their polished surface.

"Wow, this is…" I shook my head, "Not what I was expecting."

"What were you expecting?" He stepped beside me, a splotch of black against the brightly colored scene.

"Uh, I don't really know!" I followed him up the steps that were to the left of the doors, wrapping up to a platform that overlooked the lobby we'd entered into, bright red door blocking our path.

"Hey, so, brace yourself?" his voice had an odd shift to it as he put his hand on the knob.

I felt my gut twist. "W-Why? For what?"

"Well, when we walk through this door…he'll know."

"What? Like… immediately?"

"Yeah, he knows I'm bringing someone that I'm seeing…I just didn't tell him who."

My gut twisted even more. "I feel sick."

"It's just Mic, it'll be fine, it's not like you haven't met him before."

"Not as your- …someone you're seeing!" it came out more of a panicked whisper than I would care to admit.

I could tell he fought off a smile. "Are you okay with doing this? We can leave now, if you want."

* * *

-Aizawa-

His blue eyes widened, pinkness in his cheeks making the giant of a man look childlike, bringing a smile to my face. I repeated myself, hoping for an answer of some sort. "Really, we can leave now."

His eyes darted to the door, but he shook his head, then looked back at me. "No, let's go. It's fine, totally fine."

"Yeah, that was almost convincing."

"I'm going to lose my nerve if you don't open that door now."

"Yes, sir," I tried to compose my face, turning the knob. "Last chance to run."

He shook his head, large hand pressing to his stomach.

I opened the door, immediately stepping through, and locking eyes with Mic. His hair was pulled back, swaying slightly as he practically shook with impatience. He swiveled in his chair, eyes impatiently darting between me and the door as I hung my jacket.

The sharp intake of breath told me he had finally stepped through.

"WHAT?!" the chair shot back as he leapt up, smile overtaking his face. "All Might?! What are you-? You're-…? WHAT?"

"Take a breath, Mic," I could feel All Might's panicked eyes on me.

"How long has this- Wait! Has this been…. no. How long has this been a thing?!" his head kept swinging between the two of us.

"Just about a week or so."

"How could you not tell me you're dating fucking All Might!" his voice went up when he said his name, making the larger man move a hand to the back of his own head, eyes scrunching up as he smiled, desperately trying to keep his embarrassment under wraps.

"MIC! Deep breath!" I put hands on either side of his face, making him be still. "Calm down, last thing we need is a delivery kid hearing you."

"You're-" he finally took a breath, plopping back down into his chair, 'whispering'. "Holy shit! You're dating All Might!"

Hizashi's eyes snapped to All Might as soon as his mouth opened, "A-, uh… Are we… dating, though?"

Oh, bloody hell.

In just that one second All Might's face went from mildly embarrassed to beet red at his own question, and Hizashi rounded back on me, quiet tone immediately forgotten.

"You DOG!" he spoke without breathing. "You're porki- I can't even say it with a straight face!"

"Good, don't fucking call it that."

Finally, he sat back, breathing. His hands cupping his face, looking at us through his fingers. "My freaking mind is _blown_."

"Well, uh, hi, Mic!" he stepped behind my, hanging the yellow jacket on a hook.

"Hi, man!" the smile spread back across his face, laughing. "Wow."

"Yeah, well, we are here to check out the studio though, so…?"

A bell sounded, the food.

"I've got it!" All Might practically leapt from the room, door clicking behind him.

I swung around to Mic. "He's a little leery about all of this still, so _easy_. Okay?"

"Dude, you fucked All Might!" he laughed, leaning forward. "And you're not even dating him?! I expect that from you, but who knew he had it in him? Always took him for a 'save it till marriage' type. Shit, I didn't even know he swung for your team! How'd this even happen?"

"Well, the first time, lots of whiskey."

He shook his head, smile dialing down but not disappearing, "Shouta, dude, what's your game plan here man? You don't just bring anybody around, but it doesn't sound very…"

"Hey, we're playing it by ear. Don't dig too deep." I sat back on the leather couch. "He's just been stressing over having to record, so I figured coming by and getting used to the place might settle his nerves a little. I knew you'd figure it out eventually, so I just got it out of the way."

He huffed, I could see the expression on his face change, gearing up for work. "Okay, fine. You said you had an idea for his track, so shoot, give me more details."

* * *

-Toshinori-

The delivery person immediately recognized me as I opened the door, almost forgetting to hand me the food after I chatted for a moment and snapped a picture with him. I waved a goodbye and ducked back inside.

I took the steps slowly, not super thrilled to face Mics unbridled enthusiasm about the arrangement, but glad for the distraction that food would bring.

I opened the door, letting it click behind me before I looked up at them. Unnoticed.

Mic still sat in his swivel chair, now leaning over the screen that Aizawa pointed to, headphones over both of their ears.

"There!" Aizawas voice was louder than usual, breaking through the headphones they both wore. "What do you think?"

Mic slid the headphones down, Aizawa following suit, slapping his upraised hand.

"We'll make a fucking producer out of you yet! Where'd you even get the idea for that?"

"Idea for what?" I pulled the containers from the bag, their heads swiveling over to me in sync.

"Food!" Mic shot back up out of the chair.

"Had an idea about your track," he smiled that crooked little grin.

"Why do I feel like I'm about to fall into a trap?" I handed his container over to him, Mic already diving into his.

He shrugged. "What do you know about dubstep?"

"About what?" I sat down on the little leather loveseat, Aizawa sitting in the chair Mic had abandoned.

"It's a genre that's taken off in the past decade or so. Lots of people use it as workout or, like, rave music." He popped the lid off of his gyudon. "I explain that right, Mic?"

The blonde nodded, talking around his food, "Yeah, you'd know it if you heard it, lots of action movies these days have dubstep playing during fight scenes. System, bring up EDM playlist."

The lights in the room dimmed just slightly and the screens next to the one they'd just been looking at sprung to life.

"See, there are about a thousand different ways to go about this, but it just so happens I have an artist I just brought on recently that I think would be perfect. He got quite a following on YouTube with a playlist he called the hero mashups. He's great with taking vocal tracks and building something around them." He set his food to the side, stepping to a monitor, Aizawa rolling the chair to get out of his way.

"Here he goes," Shouta looked at me. "So, you said you were worried about this because you're supposedly tone deaf and don't really want to sing, right?"

I just nodded, taking a bite.

"This would be a way to make a song without having to sing. You always used to say 'I am here' when you arrived on scene, and your American move names. So, if we could just record you saying those, then the artist Hizashi pairs you with would take those vocals and create music around it."

"D-Does that count as making a song?"

"Yeah, I would suggest reaching out to the artist though, offer to come in at the same time to work on it though. That way you can get a feel for the work being put in and knowing the person you're working with goes a long way in terms of effort."

"ReiShon is the name of the guy I think you should work with. Here is a copy of the stuff he is working on, give it a listen, if you like it then I will set everything up!" Mic grabbed a thumb drive, handing it to me.

"Thanks," I dropped it in my pocket.

"Are we doing yours today?" Mic snatched up his food again, leaning his weight to one leg, looking at Shouta as he popped a bite in his mouth.

His eyes shot from me to Mic, narrowing slightly. "No."

"Why not?" I swallowed another bite, setting the rest to the side. "We're here, didn't you say you guys already had a plan for yours?"

"Yeeah, let's just do it. We can probably knock out an entire section tonight if you're on your game."

"Fuck you, I'm always on my game."

"Okay, Bakugo," both of their heads snapped to me, Mic bursting into a laughing fit.

Aizawa huffed, swiveling in his chair, setting the food to the side. "Fine, which set are we doing first?"

"Which would you rather see, All Might, piano or guitar?" Mic flipped a switch, one of the dark windows on the walls lighting up, showing a room with various instruments on stands and dozens of different microphones set up.

"Wait, you play piano _and_ guitar?"

Shouta nodded, kicking his feet up, head cocked to the side, pale skin nearly glowing under all of the dark clothes and hair.

"Uh, piano?"

"A classical man?" Mic began flipping switches. "Is that good for you, Sho?"

"Yeah," he stood up, unzipping his second jacket and moving to the wall to hang it with his other one. "Everything in there already?"

"Nah, take a headset with you, I'll get the tracks set up, music will pop up on the screen. Why don't you do a practice run while I get set up out here?"

"Sure," he put a hand on my shoulder, veins in his arms catching the dim lights in a way that somehow made him seem even sexier. "Under an hour, we'll be out of here. That okay?"

"Of course."

"You're awfully cocky today, Aizawa, having an audience boosting your ego?" Mic threw a smile over his shoulder, getting side eye from the other hero.

"You may have me beat on vocals, but you couldn't play simple keys if your fucking life depended on it."

Hizashi switched seamlessly over to English, "We all have our strengths, dickhead."

"I know you just called me a dick," Shouta backed up into the now lit up room.

"I didn't realize you could speak fluently, too."

"Oh, yeah, written is all I have to teach the kids, but my mom's from London, so I grew up on it." He continued adjusting things on his soundboard. "I tried convincing Nezu that being able to speak multiple languages would help out in the field too, but the administrative board doesn't think it's worth taking time from other field trainings. Hey Shouta, ready for the track? Starts at fifty-two seconds."

I stood up to see through the window more clearly, he nodded at Mic's question, adjusting the large headphones he wore. His shoulders seemed to broaden as he squared them, putting fingers I couldn't see from here to the keys.

"Three…" Mic said, letting go of the speakers button and holding up two fingers, then one, and then sat in the chair, one earpiece of his own headset on, the other pushed back.

Aizawa's eyes focused on what I assumed was the music, head moving just a little, almost bobbing along with music I couldn't hear.

"So, Toshinori," Mic swung around in his chair, one foot dragging as he did, the other on the seat with him, knee pulled up to his chest. His rectangular framed glasses didn't hide his eyes the way his costumes lenses did, and his green eyes bore into me. "What's going on with you guys?"

I moved my eyes back to Shouta. "Just… figuring it out. I don't really know."

"Have you really only been talking for a week, or did you just start sleeping together a week ago?"

It was almost unnerving not hearing the cheery tone he always had at school and having the more serious tone directed at me. "I've had feelings for him for a couple years now, since the USJ, but he always seemed so standoffish. I didn't want to push him further, so I never said anything. Which got harder after we started spending more time together once… once everything with Midoria. When Nezu told me he was going to make Aizawa start seeing someone about it, I realized he must be having a harder time than I thought, so I-," I chuckled a little, talking about Aizawa like this, with him just feet away, without being able to hearing me was… odd. "I emailed him, asking if he would meet up and talk about it. I couldn't believe he even agreed, but once I showed up, we started drinking, and things just, went from there."

Hizashi nodded as I spoke, tapping his finger. "You know he's a pretty private guy, right?"

"Oh yeah," I couldn't help smiling as he went to work, the part of the song he needed to perform apparently having started. "Incredibly so."

"And… you know I've got mad respect for you, and everything you've done, right?"

His tone made me turn, looking at his face, that had down turned, still looking at me.

"Mic, what's on your mind?"

He hit a button behind him, leaning in, "I'm restarting it, you missed a note."

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Aizawa make a motion, but I didn't turn to look.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, just do the damn thing again. I'm recording this time, don't mess up." He held up a hand again, counting with his fingers, then turned back around.

"He'll kick my ass when you tell him about this." He ran a hand over his face. "But I don't see this ending well. Either it ends bad for you, for him, or both. I love him, he's my best friend, and I have nothing but respect and love for you too, man. I don't want to say it, but…yeah."

The butterflies from watching Shouta turned to a dagger in my stomach, I turned back to watch him play the keys in front of him. "Why do you say that?"

"He's practically a hermit, and with everything he's got going on in his head… I think there's a chance he's not being as logical as he usually is about himself. He's only human, I think he might just be masking his pain with, well, you."

Ouch. "You know he's seeing the empath, to help with everything? I was hoping that'd make a difference with his coping."

"Really? He is?"

I nodded, watching his fingers move without having to look at the screen anymore.

Hizashi stayed quiet for what felt like forever, till he leaned against the wall next to me. "For the record, I _really_ hope that I'm wrong. I do, he has smiled more in the past fifteen minutes at you than I've seen in months. He seems happy, and he hasn't introduced anyone to me as a partner in nearly a decade, so I know he isn't taking this lightly. I just want to make sure you aren't either. And that when the honeymoon stage ends, you're ready to see him actually deal with what he has going on."

"I don't plan on going anywhere, so long as he lets me stay." I bit back the cough in my throat, still just staring at my pale, marble statue of a goth man playing the piano.

"Hey," his arms were crossed, smile spread back across his face. "I hope you can both work through everything that's happened, maybe the empath will help. I would be SO stoked to not just see it end well, but just not end."

"Me too, Mic."

"Hizashi, my dude, we're not in class!" He clapped my shoulder, hopping back over to his swivel chair and slipping the headset back on.

"And I won't, by the way."

"Huh?"

"I won't tell him about this conversation. You're concerned for a friend, there's nothing wrong with that."

"Nah, I'm concerned for my _friends_." He checked something on his monitor, smiling even bigger. "Now, let's grind his gears and tell him he missed one again."

"Did he?" I rolled my shoulders, forcing the tension out of them.

"Oh, he didn't in the first place. The piano parts are easy in this piece, he could play it in his sleep, but it's fun to watch him get riled up."

"Does he do this a lot?"

"Piano? Nah, I don't think he likes it much." He hit the speaker button again. "Oi, that was pretty good! You missed one right at the end there though, getting rusty?"

Shouta lifted a single finger, not even looking at his friend, but eyes staring right at me, smiling just a little.

…

"Sorry, he gets a little nitpicky, hope we didn't bore you."

I smiled at the comment, pulling the door shut behind me, knowing full well Mic hadn't been nitpicky. "No, I enjoyed myself. I didn't even know you had an interest in music."

"Eh, I grew up with lessons, then with having Hizashi around, I never had the chance to lose the skill, I guess." He pulled the hood up around his head.

"You had guitar and piano lessons as a kid?" I pulled my own jacket on; the sun setting had made the air significantly cooler.

"Yeah, had a lot of dumb lessons as a kid." He shrugged, walking noticeably closer to me than he usually did on the street. "Still okay with me coming over?"

"For sure, glad to have you," I shoved my hands as far into the small pockets as they'd go, forcing them not to reach out while on the street.

We walked in silence for a minute, Shouta leading the way, despite only having been there once he seemed to know exactly the quickest route there. The black jacket made him blend into the dark alley almost perfectly, his pale, handsome, face the only give away that anyone was even walking next to me.

"Mmm, walk a couple steps ahead, will you?" he pulled a hand out from his sleeve, pushing on the small of my back to speed me up for a few steps.

"Um, okay?" I kept walking, and didn't look back, but clearly put the question in the air.

"Smoking, and you only have one lung. So, you walk ahead." I heard a click of a lighter behind me.

"Those things will kill you nearly as quick as they'd kill me." I called back, taking the corner.

"I'll get back with you when I start coughing blood, old man." I heard him exhale.

"Oh, two shots to the heart. Low blows, Aizawa." That stupid smile was back, making my cheeks hurt.

A small inhale of a chuckle was the only response.

I walked in silence, taking in the cool air, still feeling oddly comforted knowing he was behind me. Until the ground started to shake, screams coming back from the street we'd just left.

By the time I turned, he was already halfway down the alley. "Go, I'll catch up!"

"Like hell!" I took off after him, not nearly fast enough to keep up, only making it a few feet before he disappeared around the corner. "You don't have your weapon!"

I pushed my legs to go faster, willing my lung to work overtime, still taking nearly forty-five seconds to make it back over to the other street and down to where the commotion was.

"Who's got a belt, dammit. Fucking sit still!" his voice rang out over the crowd of people keeping me from seeing him.

I slowed, staying behind the crowd, able to see over them from this distance. He had a knee pressing into the back of a larger man, arms pulled up and held in place by the lithe teacher whose other foot was planted on the ground next to the criminals shoulder, leaning forward to make sure his weight kept the man pinned.

"So help me, if you fucking pull against me again I break this shoulder, am I clear?" he pulled the arms together, pressing them down into the perps back, grabbing the belt that was extended to him from the crowd.

"I have rights, man! You can't-"

"I'm Eraserhead, a prohero, not a cop. You'll hear your rights soon enough. For now, shut the fuck up."

His hood had fallen in whatever scuffle I had missed out on, his hair floated up into the air.

"Tell me one of you called the cops already," his eyes didn't move from his target, but shouts of confirmation came from the crowd. "Good, does anyone need medical attention?"

"Nothing serious, sir! Thank you!" the crowd began cheering after the now beltless man answered his question, no doubt irritating him with their glee at seeing him take down a criminal.

I couldn't help smiling, joining in with the clapping for a second. Though, deciding to retreat to the entrance of the alley pretty quickly. If anyone happened to notice me, it'd make it that much harder to get back home in a timely manner, which is all he'd want to do after this. It only took the cops about four minutes to get on scene and begin breaking up the crowd. Fifteen minutes after the initial sounds of the attack, he was already done giving report and walking towards me, pulling his hood back over his head, motioning for me to go ahead as he pulled the lighter from his pocket again.

I walked ahead, turning the corner, but pressing my back to the wall on the other side, waiting for him to come around. "Are you okay?"

I promptly got a face full of smoke. "Fuck!" He ducked away, coughing. "Scared the shit out of me."

I bit back my own cough, not wanting him to feel bad, but the smoke burning my nostrils. "Sorry, you okay though? I didn't want to push through the crowd and draw attention, so I didn't see much."

He cleared his throat, "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. He didn't see me coming, he was quirkless and on the ground before he knew what was happening."

I pushed off of the wall, continuing to walk down the alley. "Pretty handy with a belt, huh?"

"Thought you didn't see much?" I could hear the smile.

"I didn't! He was on the ground before I got there. I'm old, remember?"

I heard him exhale, the coughing fit apparently not enough of a deterrent from smoking. "Well, let's go, old man. I've still got some adrenaline to work off."

I turned on my heel, walking backwards. "Yeah?"

"Mhm," the red glow of the cigarette as he inhaled giving a devilish look to his dark eyes, sending hot waves through me, despite the cool night air.

"You're going to be the death of me, you know it?" I reached for my belt buckle, undoing it.

* * *

-Aizawa-

The smoke that filled my lungs rushed out in a huff. "Whoa, we're in the middle of the-"

"Quiet, put that out, come here." He took a step, steam coming off of his outreached hand.

"Whoa, whoa, no! You are _not_-" his hand wrapped around my wrist, more hot steam flashing around us as his grip tightened, a thick fingered hand suddenly taking up most of my forearm.

"Yeah, I am," we were in the air, wind zipping by us, his changed voice in my ear.

I couldn't speak, the sheer force of the movement shocking my body into total pliability, another surge of adrenaline shooting through my veins. When his foot planted, changing direction suddenly, his hand kept my head in place to keep my fucking neck from breaking, I'm sure.

What couldn't be three seconds after initial take off his body slammed against something, plunging us into total darkness as steam started pouring off him again, breath coming in shallow bursts as he released me, falling back to catch himself against the wall.

"Honey," he panted, "We're home."

"You're a fucking idiot!" the words burned, my lungs struggling for air, legs managing to stay steady under me. "You can't be doing that for no reason! You'll kill yourself!"

"It's your fault," more steam rolled off of him as his features melted back into his natural form, shirt half torn off of him from the sudden transformation. "You can't look at me the way you did and not expect a reaction."

"Then I'll just wear my fucking gogg-" I was cut off by his mouth on mine, hands pulling me into him.

My body reacted on its own, tongue immediately finding its way past his lips, tasting the fresh blood his tiny bit of quirk usage had caused. His hands were already doing away with my jacket, ripping it from my shoulders.

"You taste like smoke," he tore away from me, pulling my shirt off next, his pants practically falling off of him without the belt done to keep them up.

"And you like blood." I pulled it the shirt the rest of the way over my hands, tossing it to the side.

His chuckle muffled by the kisses he planted down my chest, tightly pulling a knot in my gut, tenting my pants. I undid the button, awkwardly angling my arms to not disturb the path he was making down to my naval as he knelt in front of me. My pulse, still throbbing with adrenaline, making every kiss of his lips to my skin feel like fire, hot hands pulling at my waistband.

"Shit," I leaned back, finding the kitchen island to support some of my weight as I let my pants fall to the top of my boots. His lips immediately wrapped around me, breath rushing from my lungs once again as his warm, wet mouth took almost all of me. I felt myself stiffen the rest of the way as he bobbed his head. His tongue pressed up against the underside of my shaft, making my hips involuntarily press forward. He struggled against the pressure, his throat vibrating as it tried to protest. So, I settled my hips back against the counter, hand finding its way into his hair, encouraging the pace he kept up.

"Ah, fuck," one hand found its way to my base, applying pressure to the maybe half inch he couldn't seem to handle. He hummed in response. As my eyes adjusted to the dark I could tell his were closed tight, focusing. Jesus, of all the times I wish I had a camera. Just the sight of my cock disappearing past his lips nearly made me lose it. "Wait, wait."

I pulled gently back on his hair. His eyes opened in response but sank back down to the hilt.

"Oh, _fuck. _W-wait," his pace picked up despite the pressure I kept in his hair. I pulled a little harder, bringing a moan from his throat. His resistance to my touch forced more of me into him as the vibration made me release my hold on his hair, grabbing the edges of the counter as I sank back, pressing against his still vibrating tonsils. "F-_FUCK!"_

He slid back an inch, allowing himself to breathe while his tongue finished pulling my cum directly out of me.

"Fuck, babe," He licked his lips, rubbing a hand across his mouth as he slid off my still hard dick. "That was fast."

"I'm not finished." My hands shook from the head rush that came post orgasm, but I still managed to pull him up into a salty kiss, ripping the rest of the ruined shirt off of him. I tried pushing my boot off with the toe of the other, taking a couple tries with most of my attention on the taste of his mouth and feeling of calloused hands on my hips. "Bedroom, now."

I slid my feet from my pants, kicking them off as he stepped from his own pants, turning to go down the hall, grabbing my hand. He pulled me into the dark, turning to walk backwards at some point, finding my mouth with his again. I reached out, grabbing hold of his tented erection, forcing his underwear down so I could feel it's warmth, and squeezed lightly.

"Lube?"

"Uh," his voice came out a wet pant. "Yeah."

He pulled away, darting across the room we'd just entered as I got on my knees on the bed, eyes still adjusting to the new level of darkness. A drawer slammed shut and he slid onto the bed, trying to lean back, but my hands caught him before he could. I wrapped a hand back around him and sent the other into his hair, dragging his face just in front of mine. "I'm going to fuck you unconscious."

His dick throbbed in my hand as I spoke, pushing him back onto the pillows, legs spread, and snatching the bottle from his hand, flipping the top to squeeze some out onto my fingers…but none came out. "Shit."

"Oh- uh, I just bought that, seals probably still on." Even in the dark, I could tell his face was turning red.

I slid my hand up his cock before letting it fall back, slapping against his stomach.

"Alright," I twisted the top off, peeling the piece of plastic away before dripping some right onto his dick, guiding one of his hands to stroke himself. "I don't want you to stop touching yourself unless I say, okay?"

His hand began moving, it looked like he nodded, but in the dark, it was hard to tell. I dumped some onto my index finger, sliding the it from the base of his balls down to his puckered muscle, massaging the liquid over it as he tensed under me.

"Easy," I slowed the massage. "How long's it been?"

"Um, eight… m-maybe ten years?"

"Okay, just breathe, we can go slow." I felt the muscle under my fingers suddenly relax before tensing up again. "Just breathe."

I continued rubbing circles around the muscle, other hand traveling down his stomach, careful not to get in the way of his masturbating, before I picked the bottle back up, pouring just a bit more onto my other fingers. I teased the entrance with the tip of my ring finger, feeling the muscle gently give under the pressure and sliding to the first knuckle before I twisted my wrist, keeping it in place but stopping the advance even as he bucked a little under me.

"You never touch yourself here, either, do you?"

"N-No?" his voice was quiet, desperate.

I rubbed more lube onto my ring finger with my other hand, gliding it further into him. A huff of air came from him, but I could feel his hand that was busy stroking himself sped up a little. I leaned forward, kissing down his thighs as I continued to fuck him with the one lubed finger. The squeezes lessened as he got used to it, before I slid the next finger in with it, slower this time. He sucked in air this time, a whimper escaping as I sank to the second knuckle. I slowed my pace even move, barely moving my fingers in him, my head leaned against his knee as I watched him continue to squeeze at his own cock.

"You are a fucking sight to behold." I rocked my fingers back into him, receiving a squeeze in response.

"Add another," his free hand reached out, trying to grab at my hand, coming up just short, pulling his own thigh back instead.

"Are you ready for that?"

He nodded, squeezing quickly then relaxing the muscle again for good measure. So, I added the third finger, keeping it from plunging as deep as the other two at first.

"Ah.!" His hand paused as he rocked back onto my hand, I twisted my arm, planting my wrist so he couldn't rock further back onto my fingers.

"I didn't tell you to stop," I jerked my chin towards him.

He groaned, moving his hand back to himself.

"There you go," I twisted my arm back around, pushing into him again, pouring another couple of drops of the lube to my fingers as they pulled back out again.

His breathing was already getting ragged, hand moving faster.

"Tsk, a little slower."

He listened, hand slowing without so much as a whisper from him.

"You need to talk to me, how is this?"

"Good!" he blurted it out, a groan leaving his throat with the words.

"Do you think you're ready for me?" I pressed my fingers further, a nod and another whimper. "I need you to say it."

"Fuck," his voice waivered again, hand still moving over himself. "Fu-yes… Yes, I'm ready for you."

I gently pulled my fingers from him, rubbing the excess lube over my length, still adding more as I lined up with my hips, taking a deep breath to calm myself.

"You're going to keep talking to me, right? Tell me if it's too fast," I pressed my head into him, barely straining the tight entrance of the muscle.

He nodded, before registering my words, "Y-yes, I'll tell you."

"Good," I pressed a little harder, pushing past the pucker and just barely into him, heat shooting through me as I did. "Ahh."

His hand moved to the blanket, squeezing hard, but rocking back into me just a little.

I pressed just a little bit further, putting a hand down on his thigh, spreading his legs a little further apart so I could get a better angle in him, a sharp intake of breath and a kegel squeeze in response. I pushed just a little further before pulling out an inch, adding more lube, and going again.

"T-Talk to me, Toshi-….nori-" I pushed even further, probably half of me was buried in him, I had to bite down to keep myself from burying into him.

His head snapped up from the pillows as I moved forward, hand pumping a little quicker again, but I let it slide.

"S-Shouta, I'm…" he swallowed, head hitting the pillow again.

"Can you take more?"

"Y-Yes, yes," his voice was starting to shake. "Fuck me."

I pressed my hands to his thighs, planting my knees harder into the bed and plunged deep into him, fucking into him faster than I probably should have.

"Fuck, Toshi!" his ass gripped around me, his hand sliding down his length one more time as cum started shooting out onto his stomach. I moved a hand to coax more out, not slowing my thrusts into the hot fucking depths of him.

"Sh-Sho-" his fingers clenched and eyes rolled, whites showing clearly in the dark my eyes had finally adjusted to. "Ah, haah!"

I leaned further forward as my hips forced themselves forward, and hooked two cum covered fingers into his mouth, which closed around them. "Open your eyes, tell me you're okay."

I felt his tongue run over my fingers, sending another wave of heat through me as he tried speaking through my digits in his mouth. "Good." Being the only recognizable word.

I pulled my hand back out, snaking my hands through his legs to prop on the mattress on either side of him, pulling almost far enough out to break contact, almost, then slamming back into him, forcing a guttural whimper from his throat.

"Jeeesus, fucking…" his hands wrapped around my back, nails tearing across my back.

I felt the tightening as he writhed under me, a second climax baring down.

"N-No, open-" he panted, a single word coming out with each thrust into him. "-your eyes."

I hadn't realized I'd closed them, but I listened to his request, meeting his heavy-lidded eyes as the pressure in my body built.

His hand cupped my face, as another whimper left his throat. "Cu-, ahh, cum in me, Shouta."

His words pulled me forward, emptying out into him. "_F-Fuuck_."

I collapsed to the side, stars entering my vision as I slid from the heat of him. He groaned, letting his legs fall back down to the mattress, his breathing still hard. I slid an arm over him to pull him over to me, forgetting the mess on his stomach.

"Shit," I sat up, shaking the specks of color from my vision. "Shower?"

He shook his head, an arm covering his face as he laid there.

"Hey, are you alright?"

He opened his mouth, a single ragged breath coming out first, "Tired."

I slid off the bed, moving the bottle of lube from where I'd tossed it to the end table, and headed for the bathroom. A hand towel is all I could find, so I ran it under warm water, squeezing the excess out and setting it to the side, quickly cleaning myself up, before taking the towel back to the bedroom.

His breathing had steadied a little but gasped as the warm towel touched his skin.

"It's okay, I'm just cleaning you up," I ran it over his stomach first, getting what was already drying against his skin. Then moved between his legs. He didn't say anything, arm still draped across his face, so I used one hand to spread his ass just barely apart so I could soothe the skin there with the warm cloth, cleaning the mess I'd left there. "That okay?"

He still didn't say anything, but shifted, turning to his side so I set the towel on the end table.

I grabbed the blanket from the end of the bed, pulling it over us as I wrapped an arm around his waist, other sliding under the pillow.

A little hum of acknowledgement came from him as I slid into position, spooning him.

"You said my name," he barely sounded awake.

"I know," I kissed his shoulder. "Go to sleep, Toshinori."

* * *

A/N: Let me know what you think! These chapters keep getting longer and longer, sorry!

Next chapter will take a little longer to get published as I will be adding chapters to other series first, but I will be continuing it if the interest is there!


End file.
